Breakers East
by Snoe
Summary: Five years later Lilly couldn’t explain why she had single-handedly tried to stop the kidnapping. Five years of pain and fear and captivity later, she still knew she had done the right thing. Because Miley would not have survived on her own. Liley
1. Prologue

Rating: T, for some language and violence

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize

This is my first HM story, so I hope it's not too bad. This is a little different from most other Liley stories I've seen, because I like to write crazy things. This is sort of just a short intro, because I'm not sure if I should even continue this. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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**Breakers East  
**

_Do you know what's worth fighting for/ When it's not worth dying for? Does it take your breath away/ And you feel yourself suffocating?/ Does the pain weigh out the pride/ And you look for a place to hide?/ Did someone break your heart inside?/ You're in ruins_

"Miley!" Lilly could no longer see her best friend among the crowd. She turned, once, twice, nothing. The brunette had just been there moments before, when Lilly had bent down to tie her shoe and now she was just gone.

She turned again and this time something caught her eye. She was a good distance away, dark brown locks and a bright pink shirt, but Lilly was sure it was her friend. Except she was walking funny and there was a large man holding onto her arm. Lilly tried to push through the crowd, but they surrounded her so tightly she could hardly move. She watched the brunette move farther away, the man still holding onto her arm.

"Miley!" she yelled again, but there was no way the other girl would hear her over the cacophony of voices.

Shoving people out of the way, she pushed in the direction Miley had just been, now panicking. What was going on? Where was her best friend? She caught another flash of pink further ahead and pushed harder, faster. Her brain kept up a constant, terrified chant of 'Miley, Miley, Miley'. She couldn't lose her now, not when she was so close. Lilly hit an open area and ran.

The parking lot was packed with cars and buses and trucks and the blonde could not find her friend. Tears burned behind her eyes, but she couldn't give up now. She could have sworn she saw the man and Miley's pink shirt disappear behind a row of buses right when she'd exited the park. Now, nothing. With shaky hands Lilly pulled out her cellphone and dialed the brunette's number, a last ditch effort was all she had. The dial tone rang in her ear and she bit her lower lip. Nothing.

Then she heard it. Miley's ringtone. Lilly dashed between two buses; she was not going to lose Miley again. A man's angry voice cut across the section of the parking lot and she thought she heard something shatter. The dial tone in her ear was replaced by the voicemail picking up. Lilly glanced out from behind the bus and saw three men in dark clothing next to an equally dark SUV. And Miley in between them. Lilly did not hesitate.

"Miley!" she yelled and stepped out from behind the bus. The three men's eyes fell on her and she knew she was in trouble.

They moved faster than she could have anticipated and even though she was rather athletic, she had only taken a few steps before his arm grabbed her around the waist and yanked her back. His hand covered her mouth and suddenly she realized how stupid she had been. She struggled, but he was much stronger and dragged her back to the SUV. One of the other men was holding onto Miley, but the brunette did not look as if she could even run away.

The man holding her shoved her unceremoniously into the SUV's backseat, banging her head on the frame. Lilly saw black spots, and before she could even clear her vision, one of the men had heaved Miley into the SUV, shut the door and suddenly they were moving. Lilly felt panic unlike anything she had before.

"Don't make a sound and neither of you will get hurt," the man in the backseat with them said grimly and Lilly saw the gun in his lap.

Lilly looked at her best friend, worried. Miley was incredibly pale and sweating profusely, her hands shaking and her eyes threatening to roll back several times. She grasped the brunette's hand tightly, partly to reassure herself and partly to let Miley know she was there. It didn't seem the other girl was aware of anything.

"What did you do to her?" Lilly asked, her voice surprisingly steady despite the sheer terror racing through her body and making her dizzy.

The man glared at her, gripping his gun tighter in an obvious attempt to discourage further questions. Then Miley threw up. He looked ready to hit them both and Lilly pulled her disoriented friend as far away from him as possible, when the guy in the passenger seat spoke up.

"Just a little insulin, we had to make her compliant, you understand. Here, this should fix her right up." His voice was soft, yet arrogant, as if he weren't discussing the obviously planned kidnapping of a teenaged girl. He threw something at Lilly and she caught the tube, staring at it. GlucoGel, she read, staring at the instructions.

She glared at the guy in the front, then the one next to Miley. Lilly wasn't sure how she even mustered the courage for that, let alone why she wasn't curled into a little ball crying her eyes out right now. But then again, she admitted to herself, maybe she did know. This was all about Miley, she had to be there for Miley.

"Come on, Miles, eat this, it'll make you feel better," the blonde said softly to her best friend, trying hard to ignore the men's eyes on her, the gun trained on them, the SUV taking them to who knew where. It was all about Miley.

"Lilly," Miley's voice tugged at her, but it didn't sound close at all. Lilly blinked.

"Lilly, come on," the voice came clearer this time and she started.

Her vision blurred and she blinked again, but it only got worse. Then her world started shaking and Lilly woke up. She was still in hell.

* * *

It was raining again, the drops beating out a steady rhythm on the roof. She just hoped it wasn't leaking again. Lilly drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, rubbing her hands across her face to force herself to wake up. She was not looking forward to going out in that weather; even though the shack had no windows, she could tell by the way light fell through the slats that it was dark and grey outside despite being early morning. She turned, making the springs of the crappy military-style bed groan in protest. It had never been particularly comfortable, but now the thin mattress was getting lumpier and losing some of its stuffing and she hadn't slept well.

Lilly swung her legs over the side of the bed and frowned. It had been a long time since she had had that dream, years perhaps. She didn't much like to think of the day that had changed her- their lives. The blonde pulled on her boots on and noticed the bottom of her pants were caked in mud. She hadn't even bothered changing last night, too exhausted from fighting through that storm.

She stood to look for her jacket. The shack was not very big at all, just enough space for the crappy single bed against one side, a rickety table with two chairs and a wardrobe against the opposite wall. It was rather depressing really, but Lilly preferred this to the alternative – being dead. She grabbed her camouflage GoreTex jacket off the chair and zipped herself in as best as possible; she knew she was going to get wet anyway. Hanging from a hook by the door was an AR-15 and she quickly checked the chamber, magazine and safety before slinging it over her shoulder.

Lilly didn't like to think about these things. Five years ago she wouldn't have known the difference between a firing pin and the forward assist. Things were different now, though, and she drew the hood over her head before stepping out of the shack. The rain was coming down in sheets, and a fair wind was whipping it into her face. Lowering her head the blonde continued on, trudging through the thick mud that now covered all of the compound. It was several hundred feet to the large and much sturdier building sitting against one side of the compound, which doubled as the dining and meeting hall. Light shone through the windows and Lilly hurried, desperate to be warm and dry again.

A few people greeted her as she passed, but she hardly bothered to return the sentiment. The blonde finally reached the hall and shook the water off her jacket, setting her AR-15 in a rack by the door before proceeding inside. Three long tables were set up inside with benches on either side of them, while the far side of the hall held the food serving line. People sat interspersed among the tables, eating and quietly talking. It was pretty full already and Lilly knew she was late.

The table closest to the entrance was mostly empty, whether because of its close proximity to the beating rain or the girl sitting at it, she couldn't tell. Lilly moved towards the bench and sat abruptly, startling the girl who had been deeply engrossed in her oatmeal.

"Sweet nibblets, Lilly, don't sneak up on me like that," Miley huffed, but was secretly glad to see her friend. These days, even surrounded by hundreds of people she felt utterly alone without Lilly.

Lilly smiled, the only real smile anyone here could get out of her, and stole some toast from the brunette's tray, "Did I miss anything?"

Miley shook her head, stirring her oatmeal halfheartedly, "He hasn't shown up yet; you're lucky, sleepyhead."

The smile the brunette gave her made her feel such a multitude of things it left Lilly feeling confused. Miley didn't smile like she used to anymore, not with the sparkling eyes and widely drawn grin and it made Lilly sad. However, the fact that she could smile at all after what they had been through, it gave Lilly hope. And knowing she was usually the only recipient of any half sincere Miley smiles made Lilly's heart flutter.

"Yeah, well, I came home after a hard night of…work, wanting nothing more than a comfortable rest and there you were, with ALL the blankets," she said dramatically. Miley rolled her eyes at her and Lilly thought that sometimes, when they bantered, it was almost like five years ago. Almost.

Miley gave her another half smile and Lilly couldn't help but tuck a strand of stray hair behind the brunette's ear. She didn't know why, other than it had felt right, and Miley just continued to look at her. It wasn't that it was out of the ordinary, quite the opposite, and it wasn't that it bothered her or that it was something she'd analyze to death. It just was and they just didn't talk about it. Their lives were too fragile for questions.

The blonde thought about saying something else, when a stern voice bellowed across the hall, making all chatter stop instantly, "Disciples of the House of the Emergence, rise to meet your Divine Leader."

They stood automatically, they didn't think or question or defy as they had in the beginning. It was not worth it. A tall, dark-haired man ascended onto a small stage at the far end of the room and Lilly quickly lowered her eyes. Sudden anger flooded through her, at everything, at everyone around her, at the unfairness of it all, at what they had lost, at where they were at and why. At that moment, Lilly hated the world. Miley grasped her hand and squeezed. Lilly exhaled. Despite all the anger bubbling inside of her, she knew she could still love. She knew because she loved Miley and that, at least, they could not take away.

_When it's time to live and let die/ And you can't get another try/ Something inside this heart has died/ You're in ruins/ One, 21 guns/ Lay down your arms/ Give up the fight -Green Day_


	2. We Are Dust And Shadow

Thanks everyone for your great reviews, I was happy to see people are willing to give this a try. I'm going to try to update this about once a week, but I don't get as much writing done during the week as I'd like due to my job. Here's to hoping...

Keep the reviews coming!

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**Chapter 2 - We are Dust and Shadow**

_All our lives get complicated/ Search for pleasure's overrated/ Never armed our souls/ For what the future would hold/ We were innocent/_

A few years ago, right around the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre, Lilly remembered watching a documentary about it with her mom. She hadn't quite understood how hundreds of people could blindly follow a crazy person to their deaths and certainly hadn't seen the appeal. Nevertheless, her mother had spent several minutes lecturing Lilly about the dangers of joining cults. Back then she had thought it was ridiculous and zoned out. Now, she wryly thought, now it was just ironic. Then again, she figured, she hadn't gone against her mother's words; she had entered unwillingly.

Thinking about her family still made her chest ache and her throat constrict. For years she had held onto hope that they would be found or escape or get kicked out and she'd get to see everyone she loved again. Then the world had ended. She wasn't quite sure on the specifics, but she figured it had to be the truth. She remembered the explosions, the sharp staccato of gunshots and a sea of fire. She remembered how the Divine Leader had gathered them in the hall around his radio and made them listen to the newscasts. Death, destruction, fire, floods. The end of the world.

She shifted her weight on the uncomfortable camping chair and sighed. Lilly's eyes scanned the bleak horizon, the dead landscape before her, from the sentry tower she currently occupied. At least it had a roof and tarp covering it so the beating rain couldn't reach her. It was cold, though, and the blonde shivered. Her fingers were going numb and she rubbed her hands together rapidly. It was her job to watch the area surrounding the compound for anything suspicious, any survivors looking for food or gangs trying to take their supplies, but she wasn't even sure she could fire a gun with her hands so numb.

The compound of the Disciples of the House of the Emergence sat on top of a small mountain, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs of a good hundred yards and a grassy incline to the north. It was set against the side of a larger mountain and the rock wall provided cover on their southern side. The compound, called Breakers East, was fairly large, housing at least a dozen larger buildings and hundreds of smaller shacks used for living. A large chain-link fence surrounded the compound where it was not protected by the mountain. The three sentry towers ringing Breakers East were always occupied, day and night.

The tower shook suddenly and Lilly frowned, realizing someone was climbing up. She didn't mind sentry duty, at least she didn't have to be around all the crazies, and hoped whoever it was wouldn't stay. It took too much energy to deal with these people. Lilly knew she was being unfair; the disciples hadn't been the ones to kidnap Miley and her and dump them at some militaristic cult when the ransom drop went bad. Some of them weren't even bad people, just horribly misguided and brainwashed. Still, she'd rather not spend large blocks of time in their company.

The tarp was pushed to the side and a dripping figure dropped onto the platform. Lilly smiled. "What are you doing up here, Miles?"

Miley pushed her hood off her head and tried to shake the excess water off; she was drenched. The platform wasn't very big and she sat on the floor by Lilly's feet, trying to ward off the chill. "I couldn't stand being down there anymore. Carla was driving me crazy."

Lilly frowned. The disciples, especially the higher ranking ones, didn't take too kindly to disobedience. Miley put her head on Lilly's legs, staring out at the vast nothingness that lay before them, randomly interspersed with a hill or a tree. Lilly didn't think about putting her hand on the brunette's head and running her fingers through the wet curls; she just did. Miley sighed.

"If I'd known Montana was this desolate, I would've never let them name me 'Hannah Montana'," Miley said almost grumpily, but Lilly could tell she was joking. It was rare enough that Miley's alter ego even got mentioned anymore; the disciples hadn't exactly been fans and Miley didn't like to talk about the reason they were in this predicament in the first place. Lilly pretty much did what Miley wanted.

"Uh huh, what would your secret pop star name have been otherwise?" Lilly asked, happy to go along. Even though Hannah Montana had been the reason for their kidnapping, the blonde didn't blame her friend. She'd always feared it was only a matter of time before someone figured out Miley's secret, though never had she expected it to be a gang of ruthless criminals.

"I don't know," the brunette shrugged, "Alexis Texas?"

Lilly snorted in laughter and Miley turned to glare at her, "Yeah, good one, Miles. That would've been a real winner."

The brunette elbowed her in the side and her face turned serious again, "What do you think happened to everyone?"

Looking away, Lilly couldn't think of anything to say. They didn't talk about this either. She didn't believe in most of the crap the Divine Leader spouted, but it seemed he'd been right about the whole end of the world thing. They had no televisions or radios, other than the one in his office, and therefore no real way of knowing what was going on in the rest of the country. The blonde figured it was easier to just believe that everyone was dead and not hold out for hope. She looked back at her best and only friend.

"I don't know, Miley. Maybe it wasn't so bad in California. I promise you we're gonna get out of here one day and then we'll go back," the blonde said softly, eyes locked with her friend's.

Miley nodded and rested her head once again on Lilly's lap, wrapping her arms around the other girl's legs. She accepted the words without question, but Miley still knew Lilly was lying.

* * *

Robbie Ray Stewart was a broken man. It wasn't easy to tell on the outside; he occasionally smiled and joked, he left his house, socialized at times, he ate, he bathed and he didn't sit around the house in his bathrobe. But on the inside he didn't feel much and he knew it was better that way.

His only son, Jackson, was away at college in Tennessee and even though they spoke quite frequently on the phone, it was almost more out of a sense of loyalty to those they had lost. They were, after all, the only family they really had left. Robbie Ray had considered returning to his hometown after what happened to escape the memories, but bad memories haunted him even there. He had lost his wife in Tennessee and his daughter in California. Where was he supposed to go?

He sighed at the images flashing across the TV screen. He wasn't sure why he tortured himself; perhaps part of him felt he still needed to be punished for his failures. He had so many 'what ifs' he could hardly keep track of them anymore. Hannah Montana's face appeared on the screen and a stab of pain ran through him. It was the five year anniversary of his daughter's disappearance. Four years since they had declared her dead.

The world had been more concerned with the kidnapping of Hannah Montana than the fact that it was his little girl they were talking about. He'd held out hope for a long time, hadn't wanted to reveal the Hannah secret to the press, but the police had urged him to do so. People cared more for Hannah than Miley and they had hoped someone somewhere would see something. It hadn't worked. At least after five years the paparazzi no longer cornered him wherever he went, staking out his house. The kidnapping of two teenaged girls had been newsworthy enough, but with Hannah's name thrown into the mix, it was a pandemonium.

He couldn't bring himself to turn off the TV, so he got up instead. Miley's picture sat on the side table and he stared at it. Grabbing the picture, he dropped back into the cushions with a heavy thud. He gripped the frame tightly, eyes fixated on his daughter's bright, happy smile.

"I'm sorry, bud, I'm so sorry."

Then Robbie Ray Stewart cried.

* * *

The warm water cascaded down her face, running along her skin and dripping onto her feet. It was as close to heaven as she was going to get here and probably only as long as she kept her eyes closed. She enjoyed the warm spray for a few more seconds before opening her eyes and reaching for the shampoo bottle. Shower time was restricted and she certainly didn't want to be the one to get caught going over.

A hand brushed across her shoulders and she nearly jumped, but Lilly knew no one but Miley dared to get that close to her. She turned her head to look at her friend. Miley had a white towel wrapped around her body and her hair was already wet from the rain. Lilly glanced around the room, glad there weren't too many others around.

There was little privacy at the compound and the female latrine contained just one large shower area with four showerheads set into each wall. The latrines were one of the few hardened buildings, made out of concrete, which made for a bleak bathroom set up, she thought. There were no dividers or curtains between the showerheads and at first she had outright refused to bathe when someone else was present. She had eventually changed her mind.

The grey walls were almost always wet and as a result mold had started growing in some of the corners, despite the rectangular holes set into the wall at the very top. Thick rubber mats covered the floor so they didn't stand in water, but it was rather disgusting either way. And in the winter especially it was freezing cold inside. Lilly had never considered herself for a stint in the military and since living at the compound she knew she had been right.

She looked at Miley again and stopped, "Are you bleeding?"

The brunette frowned and shrugged, "Carla didn't think I was working hard enough."

Lilly reached out a hand and wiped the drop of blood from Miley's lip. Miley let her. The brunette took off her towel and threw it onto a bench just outside the shower area. Even though only one other showerhead was occupied in the room, she turned on the one right next to the blonde and then reached for her friend's shampoo. It wasn't anything she would've wished on her hair five years ago, but now they just used what they had. It didn't matter that much anymore anyway; there were no cute boys to impress or Amber and Ashley to tease her if she had a bad hair day. Now it was just a bunch of crazies and Lilly, and though she could do without the crazies, Miley knew without Lilly she would be…She didn't even have a word for that. Depressed? Definitely. Gone insane? Probably. Dead? Likely.

Miley remembered an unfortunate amount of the past five years, as much as she'd like to repress it all. That wasn't completely true, she told herself. She didn't want to repress all of it. She didn't want to repress Lilly; her best friend, her rock, her savior, the only person still alive she knew she truly loved. In five years they had only been away from each other for three nights and each one Miley remembered with a stark clarity that still made her ache. She had decided long ago that loneliness was much worse than anything else.

"Please tell me there's no meeting tonight," Lilly broke the silence after washing out her hair. Since she was normally stuck on sentry duty or some other security detail, she was often out of the loop of the daily goings on until she got a chance to talk to someone. And since she really only talked to Miley, she was normally one of the last to find out anything.

Miley, despite being a country girl from Tennessee, had not proven very efficient with a rifle, nor with a hammer nor doing laundry nor cooking. As a result, they sort of just bounced her around wherever they needed an extra hand. It didn't make Miley happy to have people look at her as if she was useless; the only thing she had ever been truly great at was singing, and she no longer did that.

"After dinner. He's giving another lecture about the End Days," Miley said. Lilly noticed the way she'd said 'He', with the sort of reverence she remembered from church people back in the day referring to God. Unlike them, however, Miley was being facetious. Not even five years in this place could turn two sane girls into crazy lunatic disciples.

Lilly dressed in the area just outside the shower room and waited until Miley was finished. She looked down at her clothing without much joy, though happy that at least it was clean. The Emergence, as the crazies called themselves in short, had stockpiled massive amounts of Army surplus stuff and all of the clothes were either old, green fatigues, woodland-pattern BDUs or desert-pattern DCU camo. Lilly wore BDU pants and a black t-shirt, happy to be comfortable at least.

She watched Miley come out of the shower to get dressed. She couldn't tear her eyes away from her friend's smooth, soft skin, the curves she had developed over time, not even the scars marring the perfect skin could make her turn. Lilly remembered each one, remembered the pain and the tears and the anger. A few thin, white lines ran across her back and here or there would be a white mark, but the worst by far was on her left thigh, a thick, raised line on either side of a deep, circular indentation. Lilly didn't care.

"You're beautiful, Miley," she said softly and the brunette turned to her, smiling. It was almost like one of her old Miley smiles and Lilly's heart caught in her throat.

Miley pulled her t-shirt over her head and grabbed Lilly's hand. Together they set off for the short trek to the dining hall.

_All those colors long since faded/ All our smiles are confiscated/ Never were we told/ That we'd be bought and sold/ We were innocent -_ Fuel


	3. The Great Divide

Alright, so far I'm doing well with the updating...let's hope I can keep it that way! Thanks for the reviews guys, you're all awesome ;)

**Chapter 3 – The Great Divide**

_Well your faith was strong but you needed proof/ You saw her bathing on the roof / Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you/  
And she tied you to her kitchen chair/ And she broke your throne and she cut your hair And from your lips you drew the hallelujah _

A drop landed on her forehead, then one on her cheek and another on her nose that woke her. Lilly turned slightly and wiped the water off her face with a scoff. Of course the roof would start leaking in the middle of the night just when she'd gotten to sleep. The meeting had lasted longer than she'd liked, much longer in fact. Once the Divine Leader got started on his end of the world sermons, he couldn't be stopped. Lilly did not like listening to it now anymore than she had five years ago. She had been there after all.

_A burst of gunfire rang out across the compound and she ducked automatically. An explosion rocked the earth and she saw a fireball shoot into the evening sky several hundred yards away. A sea of fire lay before her, flames as tall as houses, roaring, spitting ash into the sky. Smoke hung heavy in the air and she coughed, eyes stinging. Another round of gunfire sounded and she thought she heard screaming. She couldn't get enough oxygen, even though she was sucking in deep breaths and her heart was thundering in rhythm with the explosions that shook the ground. How could this have happened? Lilly panicked._

_The Divine Loser, as Lilly had dubbed him, had been predicting this day for years and she had never paid it much mind. The world might have been a messed up place, but it wasn't likely going to end. A tall tree crashed to the ground several yards from her and soot spiraled heavy into the air. More gunfire; heart still pounding Lilly leaned against the rock face behind her. Worst of all, she didn't know where Miley was._

_Lilly glanced around the side of the rock and a flash of light blinded her. The fire was coming closer and she had to get back to the compound. If only Miley hadn't been with the other group, she wouldn't have lost her best friend. There was a trench to the side of the hill and Lilly sprinted towards it. She didn't know where the gunfire was coming from, but it sounded close and she nearly dove into the trench headfirst. Now dirt clung to her skin, but she didn't even bother brushing it off, instead crawling along the ditch. There were other people, a few looked injured and the blonde saw at least one bleeding profusely from what looked like a gunshot wound. She didn't care. Those that were in her way she climbed over as best as possible. Smoke was coming closer and creeping into the trench; there would be little air left soon._

_The trench wrapped nearly around the entire mountain the compound sat on, another one of the Divine Loser's paranoid ideas. Lilly coughed again and then she saw her. Miley was leaning against the side of the trench and she wasn't moving. The blonde moved as fast as she could and as soon as she reached her friend her hands were running all over Miley's body checking for injuries._

_"Miley, are you hurt?" she asked, almost having to yell against the noise surrounding them._

_Miley didn't answer, flinching each time a gunshot cut through the cacophony. Lilly looked around, panicked; she wasn't sure if she was just imagining it, but felt like it was getting hotter. The fire was getting closer and she had to get her friend out of here. She knew Miley did not react well to gunshots, not after…well, she didn't like to think about the first few weeks after the kidnapping. Those had been the worst of her life._

_"Come on, Miles, we have to get out of here," Lilly tried, tugging at the brunette's arms none too gently. She did not have time to be gentle._

_Miley's eyes finally focused on her, "Lilly, everyone's dead. My daddy...and Jackson…and Mamaw…and your mom."_

_Her mom. Lilly frowned, swallowing the lump in her throat. Tears burned in her eyes and spilled over, leaving tracks in the dirt on her face. She did not want to think about that now and she wanted to shake Miley out of anger, out of frustration. Instead she grabbed the brunette's arms and yanked her up enough so they could make their way through the trench. Miley flinched against her as gunfire burst out near them, but right now Lilly wasn't all that sympathetic. She dragged her friend along towards the end of the trench, ignoring those they encountered on the way. She only cared about Miley and herself._

_Holding onto the other girl's hand tighter than she ever had, Lilly got them up the northern slope and towards the chain link gates of the compound. She looked back over her shoulder, seeing the fire like a giant wall of raging inferno coming after them. She was not going to let them die._

A drop of water landed in her eye and she suppressed the urge to curse. This place was a dump. Lilly pulled at the itchy green wool blanket that covered her and shivered. It was chilly since the storm had started and the dripping roof and substandard blanket weren't helping any. She wanted nothing more than to be back in her bed at home in Malibu, dry, warm, fully fed and most of all, free.

Something nudged her in the side and Miley's fingers brushed against the bare skin of her arm. Miley was lying against her side, one hand gripping Lilly's upper arm, her face tucked against the blonde's shoulder. Lilly felt her heart skip a beat; Miley was too cute for words.

"Lilly, if you don't stop moving I will kick you out of bed. Don't think I won't," Miley mumbled, sill half-asleep. Her breath was warm on the blonde's shoulder and goose bumps erupted on her skin.

"Sorry, Miles, I was just thinking. And the roof's leaking again," Lilly said softly, wiping another drop of water off her face.

Miley could tell by the tone in her friend's voice they hadn't been happy thoughts and propped herself up on one arm to look at the blonde, "Thinking about what?"

They locked eyes and Lilly sighed, "Just things, you know. The 'End Times'." She tried to say 'End Times' with the sort of inflection that she normally used to make fun of the crazies, but her voice cracked and betrayed her.

Miley looked at her silently for a long time, before speaking, "You saved my life that day, Lils. In fact, you've saved my life every day for the past five years."

Lilly narrowed her eyes, confused. She wasn't really sure she had done any such thing.

"Lilly, if it wasn't for you, I would've let go a long time ago."

Miley's words chilled the blonde to the bone and for a moment she let herself imagine what would have happened had she been smarter that day in the parking lot and called 911 instead of interrupting. The thought was too scary to continue. She swallowed the lump in her throat and reached out a hand to brush her fingertips across Miley's cheek. The brunette smiled and leaned down, pressing her lips to the corner of Lilly's mouth. Miley put her head on the blonde's shoulder, wrapped an arm around her midsection and was back asleep in seconds.

Lilly didn't think she'd ever be able to go back to sleep.

* * *

Malcolm Reynolds hurried along the corridor, dodging multiple people giving him weird looks. He couldn't afford to be late on his first day assigned to a real task force, but he hadn't heard about the meeting time changing until just five minutes ago. He came to an abrupt stop in front of the conference room doors and adjusted his tie.

The room was already full when he entered and he saw his boss, Assistant Director Art Walters, already up in front of the screen. Malcolm tried to sneak into the back, but Art waved him towards a seat in the front. People smirked at him as he walked by.

"Thanks for joining us Malcolm. Now, as I was saying, this has been in the works for a while, but we just now got the tip that will allow us to get someone in there. For those of you who are new, don't expect this to be a cakewalk; it's gonna be hard work infiltrating a place like that and even harder to get any valuable information. Now…" Art said and stepped to the side to reveal the screen behind him.

An aerial photograph appeared; it was blurry and hard to make out, though to Malcolm it looked like a bunch of small buildings surrounded by wasteland. Art motioned to the image at one of the larger blurry shapes.

"This is a satellite image of the compound, called Breakers East by its members. It's not the best image, but you can see several buildings. Now we think this larger one is the dining hall, where meetings are held as well. This is one of the few buildings constructed from concrete and based on our, limited, intelligence; we believe there is an underground bunker area below this hall. This is likely where the weapons are kept and where the leader resides."

The aerial photo vanished and was replaced by a slide showing the photograph of a young man, with his vital statistics to the right. "This," Art continued, "is Jordan Adama. He is the 'Divine Leader of the Disciples of the House of the Emergence'."

Several people snickered and a large man in the third row burst out, "So, he's the head nutcase."

Art frowned and glanced at the picture of the man to his side. Jordan Adama did not look like a friendly person; his eyes were narrowed and dark, his features stony and sharp and his hair so closely cropped he almost looked bald. Art shook his head and let the laughter die down before continuing, "Laugh all you want at the silly name, but these guys are no joke and you need to realize that if you want to work on this task force. Adama might have picked a ridiculous name for his cult, but everything else he has done has been spot on."

"This is the only picture we have of Adama and it's from his military records. It's several years old, but we have no reason to believe he has changed his appearance a whole lot. What little we know about this cult, called 'The Emergence' in short, is that it is very focused on paramilitary training. Adama did a four-year stint in the Air Force, his records indicate he was an above average troop, but did not stand out. He acquired a huge amount of land in Montana shortly after leaving the military, however, we do not have an accurate number on how much land it actually is. We believe he started his cult several months later. Be aware, this man is ruthless; he has brainwashed his followers into believing the world is going to end and that they will have to fight for survival; he has no quarrels over killing weaker members. Only one person has managed to escape The Emergence in the past eight years and as this was towards the beginning of the cult, our information is very outdated.

Last count, there were roughly a hundred or so members. We can safely assume this number to be much higher by now. Estimates have the number around 500 followers, but this may not be accurate. It is suspected that he has amassed a huge weapons cache and though we do not know exactly what his plans are, they are likely to end in injury or death. We do not want another Jonestown or Waco on our hands here, guys."

A new slide came on screen to replace the picture of Jordan Adama. It was another picture of a man, though he was not quite as intimidating. The photo was clearly a mugshot and it did not portray the man in the best light. Scraggly, dark hair, red-rimmed eyes and thin lips that were drawn into a smirk.

"Now, this is why we are here. This man is Carbon Collins. He's had a few minor collars for petty theft, fraud and possession. He spent six years in the Army diffusing bombs, but got kicked out for drug use. We found out that Collins is slated to go to Montana and meet up with Jordan Adama. Apparently Adama has been putting out feelers for an explosives guy who could be trusted for a while now. There's a middleman involved, but we do not have info on him. Well, thanks to our informant we got to Collins before he could make it to Breakers East. He is currently in custody for trafficking and is willing to cooperate.

We don't have enough information on this cult and we need an inside man. We are going to send in an agent under cover as Carbon Collins. This is the easiest, and perhaps only way for us to gain access. Our agent will gather intelligence on Breakers East, on Adama, on the followers and report back. If anything fishy is going on, we'll have a reason to go in. Malcolm, this is where you come in."

It took Malcolm a few moments to realize Art was speaking to him. He glanced around the room uncomfortably, hoping it was someone else. "What do you mean, 'where I come in'?"

"Jordan Adama is expecting an ex-military guy with explosives experience, that's you, Malcolm. You also closely match Collins' age, height, weight and hair and eye color. I'm not gonna tell you this will be easy, but this is the kind of assignment guys wait their whole career for," Art said, looking at Malcolm imploringly.

Malcolm nodded; this was exactly what he had signed up for. Now he just hoped he could pull it off.

* * *

Sweat dripped off Lilly's forehead and vanished in the dirt beneath her. She gritted her teeth at the burning ache in her arms, willing the shaking to stop. It had finally stopped raining, but it was getting close to winter and even with the sun out it was chilly. She, along with a good hundred others, were currently in the front-leaning rest position, though why they called it a rest position, she had no idea. It was basically just the up position in a push-up and her whole body trembled with the effort of holding herself up.

She wasn't sure how long they'd been in this position, but it had likely been a while. Others around here were trying to inconspicuously lower themselves onto their knees every time their torturer looked away. Boomer, as he was called, was a tall, broad man in his mid-thirties with a military buzz cut and tiny eyes that were always scrunched up. He was the Divine Leader's right-hand man and thus held a lot of power in the compound. Unfortunately, today he had also been responsible for their physical training.

Lilly had always been physically active, skateboarding, surfing, even cheerleading, but the training here had been nothing short of torture. She had probably never been in better shape, but it meant little to her now. It meant even less because Miley had always been horrible at PE back in High School and it had been no different here. And now Lilly had to watch, her own body in agony, as Boomer towered over her best friend at the very front of the formation.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" His voice rang out across the field they were on and the blonde figured that was why they called him Boomer. Lilly couldn't see Miley, but knew the yelling was directed at her.

"You can't do more than three push-ups, you cannot be serious! You are a disgrace. Look at them," he yelled, pointing at the other people still in the front-leaning rest position, shooting angry glares at Miley, "They are going to suffer until you can do ten push-ups. You better get to it."

Boomer was so focused on the brunette beneath him, Lilly took a chance and maneuvered herself a few feet to the side. She finally had a more or less unobstructed view of her friend and frowned. Miley was struggling to push herself into the up position, her arms shaking even worse than Lilly's were. Lilly knew the brunette could at least do ten pushups, but maybe she was just panicking because of the large, angry man standing above her. It wasn't fair – they hadn't signed up for this, not like the crazies had.

It was several more agonizing minutes, Lilly watching Miley struggle, even letting her own knees hit the dirt just to gain some brief relief, before Boomer seemed to have had enough. His boot connected with Miley's ribs, sending the brunette sprawling into the dirt. Lilly's heart dropped.

"I told Him you were worthless; perhaps it's time you left the compound." Boomer's voice was no longer infuriated, now he just sounded stern.

A cold, vice-like grip tightened around Lilly's heart and her trembling was no longer due to tired muscles. 'Leaving the compound' was code for termination. Face-blank execution. Purging the weak so the strong could survive. Lilly had seen it happened a few times over the years and it had been horrible enough to witness this fate befall a stranger, but Miley…Lilly wouldn't dare think about that happening to her friend.

"That's not fair," she said, surprising herself by having spoken out in the first place. Boomer's head snapped up from where he'd been focused on Miley and glanced around, trying to see who had dared speak to him like that.

Lilly glanced up and he stalked over, having a pretty good guess who would bother defending the useless brunette. He yanked her up by her t-shirt and Lilly stood before him on shaky legs.

"What did you say, soldier?" he boomed at her and the blonde tried not to flinch.

She wasn't a soldier. She was just some girl who'd had her life turned upside down at age 16 and had muddled through whatever was thrown at her, following just to survive. She hadn't wanted this and neither had Miley.

"I said, you're not being fair. Not everyone's good at sports, so what?" Lilly didn't know where her courage, or perhaps stupidity, had come from, but it felt good to speak her mind for once. She was sure she'd regret it later.

Boomer stared at her, almost dumbfounded, for a split-second, before drawing his lips into a grin, "Life's not fair."

His fist was a blur coming at her and Lilly didn't have time to duck. An explosion rang in her head and she stumbled backwards, crashing into the dirt. A dark haze settled over her mind and she could've sworn she heard Miley calling her name, before the blackness swallowed her.

.

_Well baby I've been here before/ I've seen this room and I've walked this floor/ You know I used to live alone before I knew you/ And I've seen your flag on the marble arch/ And love is not a victory march/ It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah -Jeff Buckley_


	4. No Holier Temple

A littler later than planned, but here it is. I had to overcome the depression from seeing my team lose, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging. Thanks for all the great reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 4 – No holier temple**

_We got lost again/ Drove to the end of a road/ And a red-faced man/ Taught us to do what we're told/ And on the 23rd night/ Things ain't bad/  
But things ain't right/ Are we falling or flying/ Are we living or dying/ I guess we'll never know/ _

_..  
_

When she awoke, her head pounding, the sky was turning gray, some last rays of sunshine throwing orange patterns onto the hill. She groaned and rubbed a hand across her face. She tasted dirt. Lilly rolled onto her side and carefully pushed herself into a sitting position. The field was empty, just dirt and the imprint of hands and feet long gone. Closing her eyes until the pounding subsided somewhat, Lilly tried to wrap her head around what had happened. Then she remembered. Miley, what if they had already taken her and she was gone and Lilly was here, all alone in this godforsaken place.

She tried to stand on wobbly legs and that's when she saw her. Miley was sitting with her back to a small boulder just a few feet from Lilly's side. Her head was leaned back, her eyes closed, but when she heard movement, they opened. She smiled at Lilly, relief evident on her face. Miley stood up slowly.

"Lils, I was worried. How's your head?" Miley asked softly, reaching out a hand to touch the already forming bruise on the blonde's temple when she stepped closer.

"Been better, but I'll live," Lilly shrugged, stepping as close to her friend as possible.

Miley frowned, "Why'd you do that, you doughnut?"

Lilly smiled weakly, "Come on, Miles, you're my best friend, it'll always be you over anything else."

The brunette stared at her and shook her head, "Over what? Not getting knocked in the head? Did he shake a few brain cells loose?" Her voice was softer when she continued, "I don't like seeing you hurt, Lilly, especially not over me. It's my fault we're here in the first place, I don't want you to have to suffer more."

Lilly stared at her friend, in shock. They hadn't talked about this, not really, just a few weak whispers and tears during the first few hours after the kidnapping, but Lilly'd had no idea Miley was still blaming herself five years later. The blonde grabbed onto her friend's upper arms, making Miley meet her eyes with a stern look.

"Miley, none of this is your fault. It was Joe and Adrian and Matt and that fat guy. They took us and they locked us up and they hid us here to cover their own asses. And it's them," Lilly pointed at the sentry towers surrounded the compound, towering over them from their position on the field, "it's them keeping us here, with threats and guns and violence. Not you. You didn't do this to us, Miley, they did."

There was silence, just their eyes, locked together, Lilly's hands still tightly gripping Miley's upper arms. Tears shone in the brunette's eyes and it made Lilly's heart clench. She hadn't even noticed she was crying as well. When Miley still hadn't said anything after several moments, Lilly sighed and let her hands slide down the brunette's arms to take her hands.

"Even if you had done something, some little, dumb thing you didn't even remember that led them to you, it's not your fault, Miles. But for whatever you think you did, I forgive you. I forgive you a thousand times over, Miley. Because I love you."

Miley practically collapsed into her arms and Lilly wrapped her arms around her friend and closed her eyes. She inhaled the scent that was so purely Miley, reveling in the feel of the brunette's body so close to hers, knowing this was what love was.

Opening her eyes, she looked around the deserted field with a heavy heart. She wanted nothing more than to take Miley and run, run until they were out of breath and far away from this place. They were outside the compound, but the looming sentry towers were a stark reminder of their predicament. They wouldn't get more than a few yards, she knew, before they'd be taken down. And while she would've taken the risk on her own, Lilly would never put Miley in danger. She wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to her friend. So instead they stood in silence, wrapped in each other's arms, as the sun faded below the horizon.

* * *

He tapped his pen impatiently on the files stacked on his desk, his features dark. Throwing a glare at the man across from him, he let out a breath and shut his laptop. The noise was loud in the stark room. The walls were bare brick with just a simple coat of white paint and empty except for a large map tacked to one side. A bookshelf stood against one wall, filled with multiple volumes on survival and evasion tactics, weapon maintenance and explosives. There was a sole desk in the room, and though covered in files and papers, it was neat. The dark-haired man sat behind the desk, still glaring at his tall, blonde friend who was sitting in a rickety plastic chair on the other side.

"Come on, Jordan," the blonde man huffed at his friend, exasperated. They'd been friends for a long time, though he knew they used the term loosely. Perhaps 'business associates' was better.

Jordan narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, "Right. What happened the last time I trusted you, Adrian?"

Adrian pursed his lips, thinking that one over. Though they kept in fairly regular contact, it wasn't like it used to be. His friend now spent all his time shut up in this bunker, surrounded by paranoid schizophrenics who worshipped the ground he walked on. Of course, he thought, Jordan had always had a god complex and was probably a paranoid schizo himself. He chose his next words carefully.

"Last time you trusted me, I brought you a nice present," the blonde said softly, a smirk on his face.

Jordan scoffed and leaned forward towards his friend, "A present? That was blackmail. Hannah Montana and her super-annoying sidekick, whatever."

Adrian thought back to the day five years ago, he'd shown up with his two hostages in tow. Perhaps Jordan had a point. "Hey, it's not my fault you decided not to touch them."

Running a hand across his dark, shortly shorn hair, Jordan leaned back again, eyes dark, "I'm not a pervert, Adrian, unlike some other people you associate with."

The blonde man leaned back in his own chair, wanting to adopt the same sort of easy confidence that surrounded his friend. Jordan, unfortunately, was right again, though he didn't like thinking of his old buddy Matt, whom he'd had to shoot in the head upon finding him entertaining useless thoughts about one of the hostages. Instead, he decided not to let Jordan get to him.

"Please, how many of the women in this nut farm have you slept with, huh? How many have had your babies? Just because you kept your hands off two teenagers doesn't make you a saint, Jordan," Adrian said smugly.

Jordan glared at him dangerously, with a hint of contempt, "Adrian, my dear friend, I wouldn't talk about things I know nothing about. You're the one who came here five years ago, panicked, because you'd kidnapped goddamn Hannah Montana and didn't know what to do with her. You were the one who couldn't kill those girls and I won't understand it as long as I live."

Adrian tried to keep his face neutral, but Jordan's words had brought back many memories he'd vowed to forget. It had been a low point in his life, the day he brought the girls to Breakers East. His plan had been so perfect, he'd hardly believed his luck when he found out Hannah Montana was Miley Stewart from a stagehand friend of his who had worked at some venue Hannah performed at. It had been too perfect; snatch Miley, who was a nobody and had no security around her, hit up her daddy for twenty-five million dollars and then retire on a beach in Mexico.

It hadn't quite worked like that and he'd ended up killing Matt, nearly getting caught by the cops at the ransom drop and stuck with two teenagers locked up in his basement. He should have just killed them, Adrian thought for the thousandth time. But he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger and he couldn't just let them go, no matter how much they'd promised not to turn him in. So he had brought them here, the one place he knew they'd never be found. He'd forced his old friend Jordan into taking the girls, keeping them indefinitely, by threatening to feed the FBI information on Breakers East. Adrian had had a hand in not only helping Jordan acquire the large tracts of land, but also all the weapons and explosives currently located in this bunker.

Adrian shook his head to will the memories away, "Whatever, you know I love to reminisce, but can we talk about why I'm here now?"

Jordan shrugged and handed a file across the desk, "If what you're saying is true and the FBI is stepping up its inquiries, then it's time we put a little more insurance into this place. Your explosives guy, Collins, should be here next week, said he was delayed on his way. If you can get me the stuff on this list, you'll get a nice commission."

Adrian only glanced at it briefly before nodding. After his last disastrous attempt, he'd given up on kidnapping and was now mainly focusing on arms dealing. He stood, tucking the file under his arm and nodded at his friend.

Jordan stood as well and grinned, "Now, isn't this a lot better than you forcing me to humor your soft heart?"

The blonde only grimaced and decided to let the barb lie. He left the bunker, glad to get away from the nut jobs.

* * *

Miley was crying. Lilly's face was wet with tears. Their hands, clasped tightly, lay trembling between them as they sat against the cold brick wall. Adrian was pacing, heels kicked up little clouds of dirt as he walked. Matt was leaning against the wall next to the girls, picking at his nails. Joe was standing by the doorway anxiously glancing at Adrian. And Brendan was somewhere in the house, probably looking for food. There was silence in the room, until Adrian spoke again.

"No, you listen, Mr. Stewart," he said the name with such contempt even Matt looked up, "I want 25 million dollars in unmarked, untraceable bills and I want it by Saturday. And don't even think about calling the cops."

He pressed the phone tighter against his ear, knuckles turning white as he listened to the man on the other side. He was angry and tried hard to make his voice sound calm and composed, "Not enough time? How long do you want your daughter to spend time under my care, huh? Stop wasting my time and get on it!"

Robbie Ray was talking again and Adrian scoffed at his request. He walked towards the girls, stopping right above them. They shrank back and he smirked. "Of course she's still alive, it'd be dumb of me to kill her right away, wouldn't it? Say hi to your daddy, Hannah."

He held the phone up above their heads and Miley stared at it. She didn't know what she was supposed to do; was she supposed to let her daddy know she was alive or say nothing? But she missed him so much and just wanted him to find her and hold her and make everything better.

"Daddy, I…" she yelled, but Adrian had already put the phone back to his ear and walked away. More tears spilled down Miley's cheek. At least Lilly was there, she thought, at least she wasn't all alone, but then realizing how horrible it was of her to think that she cried harder.

Adrian turned his back to the girls, "Now that you know she's alive, go get my money. I'll…"

Robbie Ray interrupted him and Adrian stopped, anger coming over his face, "What do you mean you don't have…who do you think you're talking…you're Hannah Montana's father, I'm not stupid!"

Adrian gritted his teeth, furious that the other man would try to tell him he didn't have that kind of money. He was Hannah Montana's manager for god's sake; he was loaded. The blonde man gripped the gun he had tucked into the waistband of his pants, feeling the cool grip lie heavy in his hand. He walked back over to the girls, who stared at the gun with wide, fearful eyes.

"Listen, buddy," he said, barely controlling his anger. His finger itched to pull the trigger; this idiot didn't know whom he was talking to. "I'm not playing around here, this isn't summer camp! I'm gonna fuckin' kill her if you don't get me that money!"

The other man said something, perhaps trying to appease him, but he'd had enough useless talk. Adrian pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot reverberated through the silent room.

Miley shot up in bed, scream stuck in her throat. She clambered over the side of the bed, crashing to the wooden floor below with a heavy thud. Her leg ached and bile rose in her throat. Miley tried to draw in a shuddering breath, but it was as if her throat was closed up and she panicked. Gripping the bed frame with her hand she slightly pulled herself up, still trying to breathe. The bed was empty. She sat on the floor and drew her legs up, willing the panic away. She was going to hyperventilate if she didn't get a proper breath in soon, she knew. Miley pushed herself up, fumbling for the ratty old sweatshirt she'd thrown over the chair earlier. Pain raced through her leg and the brunette bit her lip, taking another half breath. She pulled the sweater over her head and stumbled towards the door. Her chest ached and even as the cool night air hit her, oxygen refused to enter her lungs.

It was pitch black in the compound, only a few safety lights were on here and there, but Miley had lived there long enough to know her way around. She made her way up the slope towards the dining hall, the only building with lights still shining through its windows. It wasn't until pebbles bit sharply into the soles of her feet that she realized she was barefoot. Miley wrapped her arms around her torso, trying for another deep breath. A little more air entered her lungs than before, but her chest was so tight and her ribs ached and her head swam and her leg throbbed and she wanted to sit down and never move again. Miley pushed on, ignoring the rocks digging into her feet, pushing down the nausea.

The windows of the dining hall were open and she could hear quiet talking, occasionally interrupted by deep laughter. She hesitated outside the double doors then stepped inside. The large room was empty except for a group of people sitting at one of the long tables, playing cards. A fire burned in the fireplace to the side and Miley wrapped her arms around herself again. She knew she probably looked pathetic standing there, gasping for breath, face pale and sweaty, shaking and barefooted, but she didn't care what those people thought. There was only one person she cared about.

A slim man with salt and pepper hair noticed her first, watching her standing there for several seconds before looking at the blonde across from him. "Hey Lilly, your girlfriend's here," he said, jokingly, yet his voice held a condescending tone.

Lilly only spared him a millisecond glare before turning around. She only had to take one look at Miley before she jumped up, tossing her cards onto the table and leaving with nothing but a nod to the guys. She made her way over to the brunette, trying not to make a huge scene, but secretly she was worried. Miley looked awful.

When she reached her friend, she put a hand on the girl's upper arm to guide her outside. She felt her friend shaking and frowned. As soon as they stepped into the cool air Miley faltered and nearly fell, but Lilly wrapped her arms around her from behind to hold her up.

"Miles, what's wrong?" Lilly asked softly, turning the girl around in her arms. Miley laid her head against Lilly's shoulder, wrapping her trembling arms around the other girl and drew another shuddering breath. The blonde ran her hands softly across her friend's back.

Miley relaxed into Lilly's embrace and took a deep breath; the ache in her chest lessened and the dizziness faded away. She felt silly now, standing here, to have panicked like that over a dumb dream. She sighed. "Just a bad dream."

Lilly pressed her cheek against the soft, brunette hair and sighed as well. Bad dream was probably an understatement, considering the panicked state she'd found her friend in. But she was willing to let it slide; Miley seemed to be doing better now.

"Wanna talk about it?" the blonde asked softly and felt Miley shake her head. Lilly pulled away and wrapped an arm around the other girl's waist, "Let's just go back to bed, okay?"

Miley stiffened, but let herself be pulled along by the blonde. Lilly noticed she was limping slightly, but decided not to say anything, instead pulling her along in silence. They entered their shack and Lilly gently pushed Miley onto the bed. It was fairly cold, even inside, and seeing the brunette shuddering, Lilly went to the wardrobe and took out two more itchy wool blankets. She spread one over the bed and draped the other around Miley, then kicked off her boots and pants and climbed onto the bed.

"Did you dream about Adrian…when he…" Lilly trailed off, not sure she could bring herself to say it either. Those had undoubtedly been the worst 24 hours of her life.

Miley nodded curtly, feeling the panic rise again as she thought about her dream. She felt Lilly pull her backwards, farther onto the bed. The blonde rested her back against the wall, stretching her legs out in front of her and pulled Miley into her lap. The brunette curled up against her friend, head resting against Lilly's belly. Lilly ran her hands soothingly through the brown hair and Miley closed her eyes, feeling the panic ebb away.

"Does your leg hurt again?" Lilly said softly, not ceasing her ministrations on her friend's hair. Miley nodded weakly against her, the continuous throbbing in her leg abating with each comforting beat of Lilly's heart.

"Want me to get you something? I know Dave can be a hard ass, but I'm sure I could sneak some Motrin or something."

Miley shook her head, cursing the panic that rose at the mere thought of Lilly leaving her. She curled her fingers around the hem of the blonde's shirt, "No, it's fine. Just don't go, okay?"

Lilly nodded, though Miley couldn't see, continuing to stroke the brunette's hair. Miley's body was warm against her own and she loved the way they fit together so perfectly. They sat in silence, each listening to the other's breathing, feeling the beating of the other's heart. It was several minutes before Miley spoke again.

"I really miss them, you know." Her voice was soft and almost inaudible. Lilly didn't have to ask whom she meant, she knew all too well. Their parents, as much of a pain as they'd been in their teenage years, would be nothing short of salvation now. Oliver, best guy friend a girl could have, who probably had to find out about the kidnapping from the TV news. Even annoying Jackson, a stupid comment or prank always at the ready, would make her heart rejoice. Being blackmailed by Rico, a rude comment by Ashley or Amber, Ms Kunkle berating her in class, Hannah's nasally challenged friend Tracy – Lilly missed it all.

"The last time…my dad heard my voice…when Adrian…and it hurts to know how much that…must've hurt him," Miley mumbled, her voice cracking.

Lilly felt her heart in her throat, she had never even thought about that. Adrian had held up that phone and Miley had called for her dad and then…Lilly closed her eyes briefly at the memory. The last time Mr. Stewart would have heard his daughter's voice had been her agonizing screams for him after Adrian shot her. Lilly shuddered. She'd been there when it happened and though she knew Miley was okay, the memories still made her throat close up.

"Hey, come on," Lilly said softly after composing herself, "he loved you so much; he wouldn't want you beating yourself up over something like that. We're still here, aren't we? Come hell or high water…you and me Miles, through it all."

Miley nodded against her and Lilly could feel her body relaxing even more into hers. Cold air drafted in through the wooden slats and she drew the blanket tighter around the brunette. Miley was asleep within minutes, but Lilly sat there for a while longer, hand still stroking her friend's hair.

..

_The air's so heavy/ It could drown a butterfly/ If it flew too high/ And I get the feeling/ That the truck driver ain't shy/ Cause he's looking at me/ But nowhere near my eyes/ And on the 35th morning/ Things ain't good/ But things ain't boring/ _-Grace Potter & The Nocturnals


	5. We enter the circle at night

Hey all, thanks for your reviews, they're what keep me writing. I think you'll all enjoy this chapter ;)

* * *

**Chapter 5 – We enter the circle at night…**

_Backbeat the word is on the street/ That the fire in your heart is out/ I'm sure you've heard it all before/ But you never really had a doubt/ I don't believe that anybody /  
Feels the way I do about you now/ And all the roads we have to walk are winding/ And all the lights that lead us there are blinding/ There are many things that I would/  
Like to say to you/ But I don't know how/_

Snow. Despite having lived there for close to five years, she didn't think she'd ever get used to the snow. She'd been a Cali girl all her life and had only seen snow the few times she'd gone on a skiing vacation with her parents. It wasn't even really Winter yet, she thought gloomily, yet the first flurries had descended on them this morning. The wind from the past few days had calmed down at last and large, fluffy snowflakes fell silently around her. They barely stuck to the ground before melting, leaving only a thin sheen of white across the buildings.

The path moving through the rows of shacks was slowly turning into a groove of mud and she tried to avoid stepping into the little snow puddles. Finally reaching their shack, Lilly pushed the door open and stepped inside with a relieved sigh. Warm air greeted her and whatever snow had settled on her jacket melted, dripping onto the floor. Stripping off her jacket she threw it into the corner by the door, kicking her muddy boots after it.

"Hey! I just got this place cleaned up!"

Lilly looked over at the bed and grinned. Miley was stretched out on her stomach, a book propped open in front of her, a smile on her face despite her fake outrage. She was wearing BDU pants and a green, long-sleeved sleep shirt and Lilly thought that no matter what the brunette wore, she'd be beautiful.

"I can leave, but then you won't be getting your food," Lilly said casually and tossed two brown packages onto the table. Warm air blew against her legs as she moved away from the door and she glanced down at the hole in the side of the shack. They'd spent all day rigging the numerous shacks with old military tent heaters, connecting them with tubes to share the warmth among all. There was still a draft, from the connector to the tube, as well as the slats of the poorly built shack, but it was a definite improvement.

Miley sat up at the mention of food and closed her book. Lilly glanced at her before sitting at the table, "What're you reading?"

The brunette looked at the book and snorted, "I have no idea. I remember something about mushrooms." She trailed off somewhat confused and Lilly grinned. "So, what's with the MREs?"

"Mr. Divine Loser was in a foul mood and did not want people bothering him, so…MREs it is," Lilly said, not looking too happy at the prospect of her dinner either. "So, Vegetable Lasagna or Beef Stew?"

Miley scoffed and gave the blonde a look like she was insane, "Please! Beef Stew, hands down."

Lilly frowned and tried to do her best pouty face, but she knew she'd give in to whatever her friend wanted. And really, to finish her mission, she needed some of the things that came with the Lasagna anyway. She threw one of the brown packets to Miley with an exaggerated sigh and the brunette gave her a bright smile. It turned Lilly's insides to mush.

She ripped open the bag of her own meal, pouring the tightly packed contents onto the table. She pushed the pouch containing the lasagna to the side, grimaced at the Wet Pack Fruit package and grabbed the pound cake with glee. She looked around the rest of her stuff with frustration. Glancing over to the bed she noticed Miley had already disassembled her package, the beef stew pouch sitting in the flameless heating pack, while the brunette was munching on the extra dry crackers, a package of cheese spread in her hand.

"Hey Miles, can I borrow your Accessory Pack?" Lilly asked, trying not to sound like anything was up. Miley just shrugged and threw the little pack to the blonde. Lilly smiled. "And your canteen, too?"

"Sweet nibblets, Lilly, get your own stuff," Miley grumbled, but nevertheless handed the blonde her canteen.

Lilly turned slightly so most of what she was doing was blocked from Miley. Not that it mattered. She was too engrossed watching her beef stew heat up to really pay attention to Lilly anyway. Lilly took out her packet of cocoa powder and searched through Miley's accessory pack for the dairy creamer and a pack of sugar. She mixed them all together in the canteen cup and added some water, making a thick paste. Sitting her pound cake on one of the little cardboard boxes from her meal, she smeared the top of it with the paste until it was all gone. Finally, she grabbed the matchbook from her pack and ripped out several matches, sticking them randomly into the top of the pound cake. Lilly lit them with another match and turned to her friend.

"Hey Miley," she said softly, holding out the pound cake and waited until the brunette turned towards her, "Happy Birthday."

Miley stared at the creation in Lilly's hands, the small flames of the matches dancing in front of her eyes and was utterly speechless. Lilly was smiling brightly and looking at her friend with such love it made Miley's heart clench. She was silent, staring at her 'birthday cake' for several moments, before the blonde spoke again.

"You better blow out these candles, Miles, before I catch on fire," Lilly said, though she wished the look of happiness and adoration would never leave her friend's face again.

Miley smiled and took a deep breath, blowing out the matches. Some of them tipped over into the 'icing' and they laughed, not caring one bit. Lilly set the 'cake' on the table, fishing out the sticky matches one by one.

"You better come and eat this, Miley; I spent all day in the kitchen making this just for you," Lilly joked and before she knew it, Miley was kneeling in front of her.

Lilly looked down at her friend. Miley moved and suddenly her lips were on Lilly's, soft and warm and completely intoxicating. Lilly felt burning heat through her pants where Miley's hands were and the blonde's mind went blank. Her body responded on its own, as if it had expected this or done this a thousand times before. Her tongue brushed against Miley's lips and the other girl pushed harder against her, allowing her access. Lilly's head swam, she could think of nothing but the feel of Miley's lips against hers and the warmth of Miley's fingers on her knees. When their tongues met she let out a groan.

Miley pulled away slowly, the smile on her face so perfect it made Lilly's chest ache. The brunette sat down on the other chair and pulled the 'cake' towards her. She looked at Lilly, sparkle in her eyes. "Well, if you spent ALL day, I better make sure I don't let any of it go to waste."

She took a bite; fake icing clinging to her lips and Lilly just stared at her. Her mind was still fuzzy and every nerve ending in her body in an uproar. She watched Miley stuff her face with the fake birthday cake and grinned; Lilly clearly remembered her friend always having been a rather enthusiastic eater. "Hey, where's my piece?"

"I thought you'd already gotten that, "Miley said, her mouth particularly dry after eating most of the pound cake. She raised one eyebrow at her friend.

Lilly mirrored her look and held out her hand. Miley broke off a piece of the cake with an exaggerated sigh and handed it to her friend, though she gladly would have shared everything she had with the blonde. When their eyes met, Miley's face turned serious.

"I love you, Lilly."

"Yeah, I got THAT," Lilly said with a smirk, popping the small piece of pound cake in her mouth. Miley scrunched her face up at her, trying to think of a comeback. They both burst into laughter.

* * *

"So, you ever go over there?"

Malcolm looked at the man across from him, trying to get his nerves under control. His first real assignment, he couldn't blow this; it was too important. He didn't have to ask what Adama was talking about, he'd been in the military after all and realized Art had been right to choose someone with that kind of background. But Malcolm found it hard to replace parts of his own life with the information he'd gotten about Collins. He had already figured out that long silences were going to work in his favor.

He nodded slowly, "I did two tours in Iraq."

They had mentioned during his briefings that Carbon Collins was a man of few words and it suited Malcolm just fine. He'd met up with two large, militaristic men in a run-down dinner on the outskirts of the town closest to the compound and, after they had verified his identity, they had traveled together to Breakers East. They hadn't exactly blindfolded him or anything, but the drive through a long stretch of desolate landscape was just as good in Malcolm's opinion. It had been ridiculously early in the morning, around 4 am when they'd left and he hadn't seen many people at the compound when he'd arrived. The two men had immediately taken him to see Jordan Adama, in a small office adjacent to what the FBI thought was a dining hall. He'd been there for a good two hours already, he assumed.

Adama just stared at him, his eyes dark and intense as if he was trying to read Malcolm's soul. Malcolm tried to summon whatever military bearing he'd had once upon a time and remain calm under the gaze. Though Adama had asked Collins here and couldn't have known about the switch, he was still incredibly paranoid. Eventually he nodded and even held out his hand, which a surprised Malcolm shook.

"Welcome to Breakers East, Collins. We're sure gonna need your skills if those damn feds keeping breathing down our necks," Adama said, his voice low.

Malcolm managed to successfully hide the shock on his face at the other man's words; the FBI was under the impression Adama had no idea they were investigating him. They had figured it would be too dangerous to wire him and thus Malcolm had no way of contacting his team until a pre-arranged rendezvous a week from now. He was supposed to gather as much info as he could and give periodic updates to his superiors.

"Thanks, being here certainly beats being in jail," Malcolm responded, trying to stay in character.

Adama stood and motioned towards the exit, but stopped, "I'm sure Adrian told you, but I wanna make sure you know that the Disciples have been led to believe the world as we know it has ended. It's for their own protection really; the world is a cruel place and they have it much better here than they would out there. We'll let them know you're a survivor from the city and we've taken mercy on you. Don't slip up; you might have valuable skills, but you are replaceable."

Malcolm only nodded, though hearing this information for the first time. He didn't know who Adrian was, but figured it must be the middle-man they'd been trying to get at. Adama motioned for him to exit the office and Malcolm stepped into the chilly air with a sigh of relief. The sun was out now, as much as it could in Winter in Montana, hanging low in the sky and throwing weak rays across the compound. There were people around now and Malcolm finally got a good glimpse of the set up of the compound. It was larger than he had expected and numerous wooden shacks lined the sides, people crossing back and forth on the muddy pathways. The large pathway that led from the dining hall to the bottom of the compound where the chain link fence ended in a gate was interrupted near the bottom by multiple blast barriers. Malcolm knew he needed to get a better look around.

They entered the large building he thought to be the dining hall and all noise immediately ceased. Malcolm figured it was more because of the Divine Leader than his own presence. Adama jerked his head towards the front and Malcolm followed, trying to see as much as possible without being too suspicious. It was a fairly large hall, with four large, banquet style tables set up. There were probably over a hundred people sitting or standing around, most of them eating breakfast. All their eyes were on him now. He figured they probably didn't see too many new people, if any at all.

"Disciples, this here is Carbon, our newest Disciple! He made his way through the wasteland to come to us and we will accept him as our newest brother," Adama spoke loudly, though with the silence in the hall, it was unnecessarily so.

The followers accepted the Leader's words without comment and Adama gestured towards the food serving line, before vanishing among the people. Malcolm looked around, but no one seemed to pay him much mind; he could see a few people throwing him cursory glances, however. He figured he might as well eat and grabbed a tray, getting himself some food before looking for an empty spot at a table. He needed to use all his time to scout out the buildings, the people and the layout of the compound and a seat close to the door would allow him to get a better assessment of who was coming and who was going.

Carbon Collins was not a nice man and Malcolm tried to remember that as he made his way through the crowd. He scowled once or twice, even jostled a person that got too close to him and eventually took a seat at an almost empty edge of table. No one sat across from him and it allowed him a perfect view of the door and a passageway to the side he assumed led to the underground bunker. To his immediate right sat two girls, a brunette with her head in one hand playing idly with her food and a blonde next to her who was wolfing down her breakfast. They hadn't spared him a glance when he'd sat down, but the brunette had moved several inches away from him and towards the blonde. Malcolm gave them a cursory look and turned back to the door, then stopped.

He tried to look at them again, inconspicuously, eyes drawn together. They looked eerily familiar, like he'd met them before for the briefest time not bothering to remember them. Too late did he realize he was staring and suddenly he was looking into a pair of blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" the brunette asked, though her voice was anything but polite. Next to her, the blonde had stopped eating and was too eyeing him suspiciously.

'Two minutes on the nutfarm and you're already blowing your cover,' Malcolm scolded himself. He thought back to his multiple Carbon Collins briefings, knowing the man was a low-life scumbag who'd rather die than be nice to someone. He grinned at the girl.

"Just wonderin' how I got so lucky to end up here right next to you, sweet thing," he said gruffly, leering at the brunette, who moved even farther away from him.

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good," she said, a smile on her face that was utterly fake and awkward, tugging on the blonde's arm.

Malcolm was still staring at her, but now, he thought, he at least had a weak excuse. He knew that girl from somewhere, but she looked way too young to have been in his military unit or his college classes. The brunette stood up, trying not to get too close to him and tugged on her friend's shirt this time. Why did she look so familiar?

"What's your name, honey?" he asked, trying not to shudder at the words spewing from his mouth.

The girl stared at him, then looked away and finally managed to drag the blonde away from her food. They were about to take their trays and leave, when Malcolm grabbed the girl's wrist. He couldn't let Collins be seen as a pushover and weakling if he wanted to get anything accomplished here, not to mention, Adama knew the type of person he was supposed to be; Malcolm couldn't let it slide.

"I asked what your name is, girl," his voice was lower now, more menacing, and he almost sounded like the audiotapes he'd heard of Collins' before coming here.

The brunette stared at him and tried to yank her wrist away, but he held on tight. She looked terrified of him and Malcolm suddenly wished he wasn't doing this. He yanked her closer and she stumbled and suddenly Malcolm's mouth exploded with pain.

"She's not interested, jackass!" The blonde girl's fist now connected with his nose and Malcolm thought he tasted blood in his mouth. He let go off the brunette's wrist to defend himself, but other arms were already pulling the blonde girl away. The hall had erupted into a sort of frenzy, but they settled down incredibly quick after one of the men who'd taken Malcolm to the compound stood up.

Malcolm watched them drag the blonde girl away, her posture belying the anger boiling inside of her. He was going to make a comment to the brunette, but he saw her face pale white, before a stern looking woman grabbed her arm to lead her away.

Malcolm suppressed a shudder. Not only had he managed to lose face by getting beat up by a girl, he'd also very likely landed two innocent girls in trouble by acting like a jerk. Three hours on the job and he was already fucking up royally.

..

_Because maybe/ You're gonna be the one that saves me/ And after all/ You're my wonderwall/ Today was gonna be the day/ But they'll never throw it back to you/ By now you should've somehow/ Realized what you're not to do/ I don't believe that anybody/ Feels the way I do/ About you now/ -Oasis _


	6. and are consumed by fire

I thought I'd post today before my team loses again, so I won't get depressed and forget about all you awesome people waiting on me. I love the reviews, I definitely wouldn't even be writing if it wasn't for all of you. So, someone mentioned something about how I had this story listed under Adventure as well...and well, I've changed the plot about a thousand times since I started writing this and so I switched categories. Those of you getting out your pitchforks right now, let me make my case. I think this will still be an enjoyable story. Okay, enough of me...here's the next part

* * *

**Chapter 6 - …and are consumed by fire**

_Oh, mirror in the sky/ what is love/ Can the child within my heart rise above/ Can I sail through the changin' ocean tide/ Can I handle the seasons of my life/  
Well I've been 'fraid of changin'/ 'Cause I've built my life around you/ But time makes you bolder/ even children get older/ oh, I'm getting older too/_

Somewhere water was dripping in a steady rhythm onto the concrete floor and it was driving her insane. A strong wind was blowing outside, rattling the handle of the wooden door set into the concrete wall. Lilly sat with her back against the wall, knees drawn up against her chest, a look of abject misery on her face. She'd drawn one of the wool blankets around her shoulders, but it was still freezing cold in the cell. She was surrounded by bars, occupying one of the three cells in the small concrete building. The other two cells were empty and thus the blonde was left alone with the cold and her thoughts.

Maybe she shouldn't have hit that guy, she reasoned, but he'd looked at Miley like she was a thing to possess. If there was one thing Lilly had learned living in a cult, it was that when the strong guys wanted to possess a weak woman, they could. And she refused to let anyone near her friend like that. Of course, punching him in the face had probably been a bad idea; not only was Lilly locked up in the brig for an indeterminate amount of time, the two guys dragging her there hadn't been exactly gentle either. She knew she'd have some nice bruises by the morning.

There was no light coming through the slats in the door and Lilly knew it was late evening by now. She'd been in there all day and had not seen Miley at all. In the beginning of their stay at Breakers East, they had spent a lot of time in the brig, sometimes Lilly and sometimes Miley locked up in a cell. But the other had always snuck in to stay with the confined one. Lilly was starting to worry.

The door creaked open and Lilly's head jerked up, but she looked away when she saw who it was. Still no Miley. The gray-haired man walked up to the bars and stood before them, waiting for the blonde to look at him. When she finally did, she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Dave?"

The older man smiled, used to the blonde's attitude after so many years. "Just making sure you're not trying to tear the place down, again."

Lilly scoffed, pulling the blanket tighter around herself, "Too damn cold for that." She saw the brown package he held under his arms and when he noticed her looking at it, he squeezed it through the bars to throw at her. Lilly caught it and tore it open, not even caring at this point what MRE he had brought her – she was starving. She'd pulled all the components out, when she stopped and looked back up at him.

"Where's Miley?"

Dave sighed and ran a hand across his short, gray hair. He'd been at Breakers East for a few years, around six he guessed, and he knew it was the best place for him. But he'd always wondered what the two girls were doing here; it was a bit of a mystery among the disciples, but something they never questioned because the Divine Leader's words were law. Lilly reminded him of his own daughter, many years ago, before she'd died from too much alcohol and too many drugs, and Dave figured that was why he had a soft spot for the blonde. He'd never betray leaderships' confidences to anyone else, but he knew there was something special about those two girls.

"Carla took her away after that scene this morning," Dave said softly, watching as Lilly stood up from the cot she'd been sitting on, food forgotten.

"What do you mean, 'took her away'?" The fear was evident in Lilly's voice; they'd already threatened Miley once with termination.

Dave looked at the girl in front of him, locked up in a cell with no heat and, until recently, no food, yet worried only about her friend. He'd only ever seen the two together, never without each other when it could be avoided and Dave knew it would be torture for them to be apart this long.

"They didn't make her leave the camp, Lilly," he said softly to appease the girl and she visibly relaxed. "I believe Carla locked her up somewhere so she couldn't get to you."

Lilly sighed and tried to stretch out her stiff muscles. She hadn't spent the night without Miley in a long time, years perhaps, and she shuddered at the thought of doing it tonight. Not to mention, if Miley had a nightmare there would be no Lilly to calm her down and make sure she was alright. She walked back to her cot dejectedly and sat, looking down at her scattered MRE items.

"Are you doing okay, Lilly? Do you need some Tylenol or something?" Dave asked, seeing a forming bruise on the girl's chin and knowing there were probably more. He'd been a Physician's Assistant what seemed like a long time ago and thus they'd put him in charge of the clinic at the compound. He was supposed to give out medication sparingly, but Dave knew some people got picked on worse than others. And he had a hard time saying no to Lilly.

She shook her head, however, "I'm fine. Will you please make sure Miley's okay? You know Carla hates her or something…I just…"

Lilly trailed off and Dave nodded. It would be stupid to go against Carla's wishes, but he just couldn't say not to the blonde. Perhaps he could think of something. "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Lilly."

She watched him go with a heavy heart. She wouldn't feel okay until Miley was by her side, but at least he'd been someone to talk to, even if he was technically a crazy. Dave was alright though, she knew, and, hoping Miley was going to be okay, she turned her attention back to her food.

* * *

"I didn't ask for you."

Dave stared at the woman before him with poorly concealed disdain. He'd never been very fond of the woman who derived so much joy from beating on the weaker followers. She held a higher position in The Emergence than him, but because of his status as the sole medic, he managed to get away with a lot of things.

"I wanted to check on the girl," he said calmly, knowing it would do no good to upset her.

Carla narrowed her eyes at him, "She's fine."

Dave sighed. Why had he promised Lilly to check on her friend? Maybe he felt guilty over what a poor father he'd been to his own girl and was trying to make up for his mistakes.

"I don't doubt your word, Carla. But as a medical professional I must insist to be allowed access to my patients, regardless of what offense they may have committed. As I remember, the Divine Leader has authorized me to do so."

Carla scoffed, but opened the door to allow him to enter, "I've always said He gives you too much freedom. Follow me."

Carla did not live in a shack; none of the five senior leaders did and Dave marveled at the amount of space she had been allotted. The blonde woman led him through a small hallway to a door in the back, handed him a lamp and left him there. Dave entered reluctantly. The room was completely dark and he held up the lamp, throwing weak shadows across the walls. It wasn't so much a room as an oversized closet and Dave saw the girl immediately, huddled against the far corner. He knelt down in front of her, holding the lamp closer to see her face. There was some blood on her lips and chin, but otherwise she looked fine. He set the lamp on the ground.

"Are you doing okay, Miley?" he asked softly, touching his hand to her knee. She flinched away from him. Dave didn't know why she was so scared of him still; he'd never hurt her and in fact, she owed him her life.

_The Divine Leader had summoned him to his private quarters. Dave had never been down in the bunker before and he hoped it was nothing too serious. He was no doctor after all. The unfriendly man named Boomer led him underground and through one or two tunnels to an area Dave had heard were being used as guest quarters. Boomer knocked on the door and then practically shoved him inside._

_Dave saw the Divine Leader and lowered his head, but he noticed several other people in the room. The Leader waved him off and Dave looked up. A blonde man was sitting on the edge of a desk in the corner of the room, white faced and nervously tapping his foot on the floor. The Divine Leader stood with his arms crossed, his expression close to furious. And on the rickety bed to his right there were two girls, young by the looks of them, abject terror on their faces. The brunette was lying down, her face pale and sweaty, while the blonde sat next to her holding her hand, crying._

_"Dave, I am in need of your skills." The Leader's voice drew his gaze back to the two men. "My good friend here managed to bring the girl to us, but she looks to be quite ill. I want you to fix her."_

_Dave swallowed, glancing back at the two girls, then the blonde man. "What's wrong with her?"_

_The Leader sneered and threw a glance at his friend, that Dave took to be quite accusatory, "Gunshot wound."_

_His mouth was dry and Dave tried to swallow again. "Are they fugitives?" he asked, not sure why someone would bring a wounded teenager to this place for help._

_The Leader looked at him somberly, "We are all fugitives, Dave, from those that would condemn us for knowing the truth. The government has hunted us, but here we are safe. Now go do your job."_

_Dave knew not to ask any more questions. The Leader left, along with the blonde man, and Dave suddenly found himself alone with two terrified teenagers. He took a few tentative steps towards them and dropped his medical bag to the ground._

_"Are you a doctor?" the blonde one asked him, and he could hear the terror in her voice. _

_He ignored the questioned and motioned her away. The brunette girl lay shaking before him and Dave immediately noticed the problem. The sweatpants she wore were a few sizes too big, but blood had soaked through in several spots._

_"Take her pants off," he ordered and the blonde girl complied, kneeling at the foot of the bed._

_A bandage was haphazardly wrapped around the girl's left thigh; blood had soaked through it as well. He put a hand on her sweaty forehead, heat radiating to his palm and he grabbed some gloves from his bag. _

_"How long ago did she get shot?" he asked while removing the bandage. The brunette whimpered and the blonde started going pale._

_"I…I don't know. A few days. Maybe a week?"_

_The girl looked ready to hurl and Dave couldn't really blame her. The wound was an angry red, swollen and still leaking blood. He touched the girl's thigh and she cried out. _

_"Bullet's still in there." The blonde looked ready to faint._

_"You don't have to watch," Dave said brusquely, not wanting to have two patients to deal with._

_She exhaled deeply and threw him a glare, "She's my friend. I'm not leaving her."_

_Dave hesitated and then nodded. There'd been a fire in her eyes when she'd said it and he knew she was serious. He suddenly felt bad. The blonde reminded him of his Abby, full of fiery determination and stubbornness. _

_"What's your name?" he asked, looking for something in his bag._

_"I'm Lilly, that's Miley," the blonde said, her voice a lot calmer now. _

_Dave nodded, drawing some liquid out of a bottle with a syringe. Lilly watched him suspiciously. "I'm Dave. I'm gonna give her something to take the pain away, okay Lilly?"_

_Lilly nodded slowly, watching the pained expression on her friend's face. "Just help her."_

_Dave nodded, though he didn't know if he could._

"Lilly's alright, isn't she?"

Miley's voice startled him and he blinked the memories away, focusing back on her. He nodded.

"Yeah, she's alright. They threw her in the brig, but she's alright," Dave said, noticing how she, too, visibly relaxed upon his words.

She turned her head away from him, staring blindly at the wall as if dismissing him. He sighed. She was difficult, though perhaps he couldn't really blame her. She hadn't had the easiest five years in this place. He stood, grabbing his lamp. He looked at her; he hadn't thought it wise to bring food or a blanket for her right under Carla's nose, but Dave wasn't even sure if she'd take anything from him anyway. He sighed again and moved towards the doorway.

"Goodnight, Miley," he said softly, before exiting the room. She was silent.

* * *

"Go Fish." Lilly smirked at the exasperated look on her friend's face as she drew another card.

She looked around the table at her opponents, knowing they weren't much of a challenge. Miley was losing even to eight-year-old Tyler, glaring at her cards with a sort of pouting frown Lilly thought was the most adorable thing ever. There were only four of them playing, sitting around one end of one of the dining tables, while a group of older men were playing poker at the other end. Someone had found an 80s mix CD somewhere and the crappy little stereo system in the dining hall was filling the hall with music.

Lilly was trying to keep an eye on the new guy, Collins, not liking the way he'd been eyeing Miley and her. She'd held a grudge ever since his antics at breakfast had landed her in the brig, but over the past week she'd caught him more than once staring at Miley with a pensive look on his face. He was hiding something, she knew, because most of the other Disciples were incredibly open and naïve about why they were there and what they believed. She'd hardly seen Collins talk at all; he didn't seem like the type of guy to join a cult.

She felt someone kick her shin and looked back at Miley. Lilly grinned, "I'll take your Jacks, please."

Miley stared at her, then huffed, handing her three cards, "I really hate you, you know."

Lilly just smiled, putting her four cards onto the table. The 80s music stopped abruptly and she turned, watching a heavy-set woman waving a CD frantically through the air. There were few people in this place she could stand, other than Miley, and Molly was one of the few that, despite still being a crazy cultist nutcase, was pretty nice and easy to get along with. She was gesticulating wildly with her CD, arguing with another woman who had clearly preferred the 80s music to whatever Molly was holding. Eventually the woman seemed to give up and Molly put her CD in, excitement clear on her face.

"I found a compilation of The Best Country Songs Of All Time," she yelled, eliciting more than a few groans, Lilly not excluded. Molly skipped through a few songs, finally settling on one and rushed to the area being used as a sort of dance floor with an excited yell of "This is my favorite song!"

Lilly only grimaced as the first few notes played, never having been a fan of country music. She was looking down at her cards, not really paying attention to the lyrics. It was several moments later when something clicked in her head and she froze, listening to the song.

_"…Or you can tell my lips to tell my fingertips  
They won't be reaching out for you no more_

But don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart  
I just don't think it'd understand…"

"Oh no." Lilly's head snapped up, eyes wide as she looked at her friend. Miley was already moving. "Miley!" Lilly shot up, cards forgotten, trying to grab the brunette. For once in her life, Miley was faster, using her head start to disappear from Lilly's sight and probably out of the building. The blonde chased after her, calling her name.

Malcolm turned to watch the blonde run out of the hall, brows drawn together in confusion. He'd heard her call the brunette's name, perhaps a clue to go on, yet he was still confused. He turned to the guy sitting next to him.

"What's with that girl that just ran out…the brunette?" he asked, hoping his questions didn't seem too suspicious.

Craig glanced at him, "Who? Miley? Who knows…crazy bitch."

Malcolm frowned, feeling something gnawing at the back of his mind, "Miley Stewart?"

The other man looked at him intensely, perhaps a little suspiciously, "Do you know her?"

Malcolm couldn't have explained where that name had come from or why he had said it, but it had sounded right for some reason. How could he know someone's name but have no idea who they are? He tried to cover his mistake, "Nah…I think I overheard them talking, y'know."

Craig nodded, apparently accepting the lame excuse and turned his attention back to his cards. After a few moments he turned back to Malcolm, "Jus' so you know, you can't go marryin' no girl unless He say it's right. Anyway, be no use for you to go after 'em girls…been here five years, ain't never been with nobody but each other. And that feisty little blonde, Lilly, always pickin' a fight over the other 'un. If you ask me, them girls is batting for the wrong team."

Malcolm nodded, trying to put all his information in order. Miley and Lilly. Lilly and Miley. They'd been here for five years, yet he could tell they weren't an integral part of the Disciples. The way others spoke of them with such derision and how he'd noticed the little instances of defiance they displayed throughout the day was some indication they hadn't been brainwashed. Malcolm knew something was going on, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. It was right there, in the back of his mind, the tip of his tongue, but whatever it was just wouldn't come. He looked back at his cards, realizing he was doing rather poorly at the game.

The horrible country song by that awful Robbie Ray Stewart finally ended and Malcolm sighed in relief. Then he dropped his cards. The look of utter shock must have shown on his face and he tried to school his features into a mask of indifference once again. It was nearly impossible with the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his heart suddenly thundering at an alarming rate. It had all come together now. Malcolm wanted to scream and yell, but he remained silent. He'd found Hannah Montana, and she was alive.

_I've been 'fraid of changin'/ 'Cause I've built my life around you/ But time makes you bolder/ even children get older/ I'm getting older too/ I'm getting older too/ Oh, Take my love/ take it down/ Oh, you climb a mountain and you turn around/ And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills/ Well, the landslide'll bring it down/ -Fleetwood Mac_


	7. The War of Northern Aggression

Alright, I'm trying to update early today before my Internet craps out on me again. Since a few people have asked, I'm a Florida State supporter, which has not boded well for me so far. Luckily for you all, they are not playing today and thus are incapable of losing (though who knows, they might just manage it somehow) and depressing me and you all will get the next chapter of this fic. I think this is turning out to be a long story, I hope no one has a problem with that ;)

Also, I guess I should issue a slight warning. The last scene of this part might be disturbing to some readers. It is nothing too graphic or too horrible, but I just thought I'd put that out there. Keep the reviews coming, I heart them all.

* * *

**Chapter 7 – The War of Northern Aggression**

_Still falling/ Breathless and on again/ Inside today/ Beside me today/ A round broken in two/ 'til your eyes shed into dust/ Like two strangers/ turning into dust/ 'til my hand shook the way of fear _

He'd been in college when it happened. He remembered the case so distinctly because they'd spent a good deal of time discussing it in his Victimology class at the time. It had been one of those cases that gripped the nation vice-like for weeks, like the Jon Benet or Jessica McClure stories; consuming every news cycle and newspaper cover. Two teenage girls snatched from a theme park in the middle of the day without anyone seeing had enticed a bored nation, realizing one of the girls was really superstar Hannah Montana had sent shockwaves through the country.

There had been no trace of them. They'd come to the conclusion during class discussion that the kidnappers had been professionals. They'd been long gone from the area by the time police were on the case and by the time the Amber Alert reached the nation, they'd locked the girls somewhere they couldn't be seen by prying eyes. They asked for money and didn't budge on the amount or the drop location. They didn't allow their calls to be traced. They'd shown they meant business when they apparently shot one of the hostages. The police, including the FBI, had seemed incompetent and bumbling. They'd tried to ambush the kidnappers at the ransom drop and let them get away. They finally gave a news conference weeks later, shocking the nation with the news that they assumed the girls to be dead.

Malcolm remembered seeing the pictures of the girls plastered across the TV for days after the kidnapping; smiling, pretty, happy girls. Perhaps that was why he'd had such a hard time recognizing them here. They'd aged some, of course, but overall their physical features had hardly changed. But their eyes were not the same; they once were innocent, perhaps that sparkle of youth and excitement contained within. Malcolm didn't know what they held now, he was hardly around them and when he was, the blonde watched him with an intensity that almost made him uncomfortable. But he had never seen them smile, not like they had in those pictures from years ago. He'd only met Miley's eyes once and there had been no sparkle.

Malcolm flipped his notepad shut, wrapped it in a t-shirt and stuffed it into the bottom of his chest of drawers. It was important he kept notes, about the compound, its layout, about the people in charge and anything illegal. Even if he never get close enough to assess the weapon capabilities of the Emergence, the FBI would have enough for a search warrant. Holding two high-profile prisoners for the past five years was definitely something the FBI would be interested in, if just to redeem itself from how poorly it had handled the case years ago.

Unfortunately, Malcolm had no idea when he would get another chance to contact his handler in town. Since the disciples believed the world had ended there was no good excuse for him to need to go into town, and regardless, one needed Adama's permission to leave the compound. He knew he'd have to be patient and await his chance. If he did this right, he could rescue those girls. It would be the case of his career.

* * *

"Stop moving," Miley said sternly, frowning at her friend.

Lilly huffed, but stopped fidgeting. She watched her friend standing in front of her, fumbling with the buttons on Lilly's BDU blouse. Miley's eyebrows were furrowed and the blonde suppressed a grin. She couldn't explain the feeling she got every time she looked at her brunette friend, but it was perhaps the only good feeling left in the world. It was exhilarating and comforting and warm and secure. It was pure Miley.

"Okay, all done," Miley said and stepped back to examine her handiwork.

Lilly looked down at herself and frowned. "Miles, you know I love you, but **that **button does not go in **that** hole."

Miley glared at her, but decided to stay silent. Lilly was right anyway; the way the top bulged and was all crooked clearly indicated she was incapable of even buttoning up someone's clothes. Miley Stewart – epic failure. Miley suddenly felt very stupid and even more useless. She frowned and looked away.

Lilly grabbed her friend's wrist and pulled her flush against her. "Mi-ley," she drew out the name and when the other girl's blue eyes met hers, she smiled. Lilly leaned forward and pressed her lips against Miley's softly. The kiss lasted maybe a second, but Lilly felt her friend relax against her. She pulled away and pouted, "Will you please button my shirt right? I'd do it myself, but…"

The blonde held up her left hand, showing off the tape that held three of her fingers tightly together. Miley sighed and moved to fix the buttons she had messed up. Lilly watched her again with a grin.

"Hey, just think, later tonight, you get to take my clothes back off." Lilly wriggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

Miley rolled her eyes and punched the blonde in the shoulder for good measure. Lilly really was insufferable and with anyone else Miley knew she would have gotten incredibly annoyed. Never with Lilly. Just being this close to her friend Miley felt warm and secure and loved. Pure Lilly.

"Maybe next time you decide to open your big mouth and Boomer breaks two of your fingers, I'll just leave you to your own devices," Miley said, perhaps a hint of frustration shining through. She finished with the buttons and stepped back again. No problem this time.

Lilly made a face at her, "You wouldn't."

Miley knew she wouldn't. How could she deny Lilly anything? The girl that had saved her so many times over, from loneliness, from death, from her mind, from herself. The best friend anyone had ever had, the deepest love anyone had ever felt. They'd been close five years ago, but over the years they'd followed this natural progression of doing what felt right. They'd cried together and bled together, they'd nursed each other's injuries and healed each other's wounds, they held each other's hearts and had loved so deeply and without restrictions.

"I guess not," Miley said and closed the gap between them again. She leaned down and kissed Lilly sweetly, letting the contact last longer this time.

She didn't know exactly what it meant and she didn't exactly care, either. When she'd kissed Lilly for the first time on her birthday it had been near overwhelming. She had been so happy and bursting with love and that had been the only way she could think of to express it. Miley hadn't spent time after antagonizing over it, wondering what it all meant. There were no school gossips to worry about, no family reactions to stress over, there was no one but Lilly and her and a few hundred crazies whose judgment was normally reserved for other things. She loved her best friend and that was all that mattered, anyway.

Lilly pulled away, a sly grin on her face. She moved to grab her jacket, zip-up thankfully, and squeezed Miley's arm. "Don't wanna be late. You be careful, Miles," she said softly and kissed the brunette's cheek before leaving the shack. She loved her friend and there was nothing wrong with it.

* * *

Robbie Ray Stewart stood at the kitchen counter, reading the paper. He was having a hard time concentrating on the words before him; in fact, he didn't think he'd turned the page in the past hour. With a sigh he closed the paper and tossed it aside. He knew he was procrastinating. Reluctantly he stepped onto the porch, eyes immediately falling to the Christmas tree sitting forlorn against the railing. It was his job to get the tree into its stand, it always had been, but for the past five years it had been a job that left him reeling.

With Jackson out of the house and Miley…he just didn't see the point anymore in having a tree. Of course, it wasn't up to him. Robbie Ray sighed heavily and went to work on the tree. It was a few hours later when he finally had the tree straight and good in its stand, now standing at the pathetic height of three feet. Robbie Ray sighed again; he did this every year and perhaps by now he mutilated the tree out of some sense of nostalgia. Jackson and Miley had always made fun of him for his inability to leave the poor tree at its original height. It hurt to think about it.

He'd just gotten the tree settled inside, when the front door opened. He looked up, managing a half smile. He knew he was in for it now.

"What happened to the tree?" the blonde woman asked, shutting the door and setting her bags next to the sofa. She walked over to what remained of the Christmas tree she'd so carefully picked out and glared at the man next to it.

"I just trimmed it a little. See, it's straight now," Robbie Ray explained. It felt good to joke around. It always felt better when she was there.

The woman looked at him skeptically, but then leaned up and pecked his lips. "Well, I might have bought a few too many ornaments then. Come help me put them up."

She went to grab her bags and Robbie Ray watched his wife of two years. Part of him was still in denial, felt like it was wrong of him to try and find happiness when his little girl had been ripped away from him. That part had gotten quieter over time, thankfully.

She stopped in front of him, the look on her face suddenly somber. Reaching into one of the bags, she pulled something out, hesitating. It was two stockings, different patterns stitched into them, each embroidered with a different name. Robbie Ray looked at them, his heart plummeting.

She saw the pained look on his face, and spoke before he could, "Robbie, I know last year we said we didn't want to do this to ourselves, but…Honey, I think it's important we keep them here, with us. They are still family."

Robbie Ray looked at her, her eyes watering and he gripped the stockings tighter. After a few moments he nodded and then pulled her with him to the shelf from which three other stockings hung. He looked at her and handed her one from his hand. They both fastened the stockings to two empty hooks, tears in both of their eyes. Stepping back, Robbie Ray took her hand, squeezing. She had been right; this was the way it was supposed to be. He looked over the stockings, heart heavy, reading the names displayed before him. 'Jackson', 'Robbie Ray', 'Heather', 'Miley' and 'Lilly'.

He turned to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "I do love you, Heather Stewart."

She smiled at him, eyes still watery, "It's Heather Truscott-Stewart."

Robbie Ray shook his head, "You Yankees and your hyphenated names, I'll never understand."

They laughed, perhaps feeling just a little bit lighter. Together they decorated the misshapen tree.

* * *

The Disciples were gathered around the stage and they were silent. Lilly stood among them, as close to the front as she could get. Someone was holding her arms behind her tightly and she almost relished the pain, the distraction it brought. Her eyes were focused on the three people on the stage, rage burning in her stomach. She knew she was going to cry, but she did not care.

The Divine Leader lifted a hand and the already silent hall became deathly still. He glared out at his people, eyes drawn together and though he was angry, it showed on his face as nothing more than annoyance. He motioned at the man to his side. Tim nodded and roughly pushed the girl whose arm he held onto her knees.

"I've called you here to witness the punishment of one Disciple who has disobeyed the rules, " the Divine Leader's voice rang out strongly across the hall and all eyes fell to the kneeling girl. "She was caught in the restricted area that lies beneath, where mere Disciples are not allowed to enter. It is the sanctum of our order and cannot be disturbed by those that are not worthy."

A murmur went up in the crowd; the bunker below the hall was absolutely off limits to anyone without express permission. Very few people had ever entered and no one would dare to do so in spite of the Leader's wishes.

"Rules must be followed lest we collapse into disorder and chaos and fall prey to the outside world. Miley, you are sentenced to five strokes."

Grumbles could be heard in the crowd now; some Disciples thought he was being too lenient clearly. Lilly pulled against the restraining hands, trying to push up against the stage. She was trying to capture her friend's attention, get Miley to see her, but the brunette was looking down at her hands. Tim roughly shoved the brunette's t-shirt up towards her neck, forcing Miley to hold it up with her hands over her shoulders. Lilly closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She couldn't watch this again. She opened her eyes.

The Divine Leader handed a long, thin cane to Tim, who took it with an almost greedy look in his eyes. Silence once again fell over the crowd in the hall, some in disgust, others in eager reverence. Yet no one would dare to question the Leader's divine will. Lilly finally managed to push closer to the stage.

"Miley. Miles, look at me," she said quietly, though loud enough for her friend to hear. Miley met her gaze, eyes empty. "Just look at me, okay…just my eyes, nowhere else, Miles."

The brunette's face was blank, eyes unseeing, but they nevertheless stayed connected to Lilly's. Miley was letting herself fade away; Lilly had seen her do it before and though she knew it helped her friend deal with what was about to happen, it took forever to get her back. The blonde hated seeing her like that. She hated seeing this. She was sick of seeing her best friend hurt before her very eyes with her too weak to protect her. They'd taken so much over the first few years, beatings and canings and sleep deprivation and lack of food, and she'd thought maybe it was mostly over. She'd just been lying to herself, she knew.

The first strike landed on Miley's back, the sound of wood impacting skin reverberating through the hall with stark clarity. Lilly felt nauseous. Miley flinched; her face was still blank, her eyes still locked with the blonde's. Lilly wanted to go home. She wanted her mom. She wanted to be strong for Miley. She wanted to kill the Divine Leader. She wanted to kiss Miley. She wanted to cry.

The second strike fell and Miley jerked forward, but kept her balance. Her knuckles were white, clutching onto her t-shirt with all her strength. Her facial expression did not change. Tears leaked out of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Lilly dared not blink, did not want to lose her connection to her friend.

Tim had done this before; he regularly practiced. He swung with his whole weight behind him, striking a third time. Lilly winced. Miley swayed. She stayed upright, still looking at Lilly. Her eyes were empty.

He struck a fourth time. Miley fell forward, her forehead connecting with the wooden stage with a soft thud. Lilly tried not to panic, not to rip at the arms still holding her back. Miley needed her and if she got thrown in the brig she'd be of no use. She tried to inhale deeply to keep herself calm. Miley's chest heaved, fingers still tightly curled around her shirt.

Tim seemed to wait for her to move, to right herself again. He glanced around, but no one acknowledged his gaze. He swung the cane a fifth time, letting it sail onto the girl's back with a loud crack. She was shaking. Tim stood back, breathing heavily and looked at the Divine Leader. The Leader nodded and Tim handed him the cane; there was blood on it. The Divine Leader looked across his gathered Disciples and waved his hand, "Dismissed."

They knew better than to stay after being dismissed and the crowd broke up quickly. Some left, others gathered into groups or sat around the tables for their evening ritual of games. Jordan Adama stepped off the stage and jerked his head at Boomer. They left and the hands around Lilly's arms vanished. She was on the stage in a split-second.

Miley still knelt, forehead pressed against the stage, hands grasping her shirt. Lilly brushed a hand across her bare lower back and Miley winced. The blonde ran her hands gently along her friend's, uncurling the tightly furled fingers. Drops of blood ran down Miley's skin, leaking out along the five red lines marring the girl's upper back. Lilly didn't want to pull her shirt down over the open wounds, but she also didn't want her friend walking around like this. She inched the fabric down as gently as she could.

"Miley," she said softly, realizing for the first time she was crying. Her voice was all rough and stuffy. The brunette's hands lay curled by her head and Lilly took the closest one into her own, squeezing it. "Miley, come on, let's go."

Lilly pulled on her hand and the brunette sat back shakily. Standing, the blonde pulled her friend up as well, trying to meet her eyes. "Are you okay to walk?"

Miley simply nodded, not looking at her friend. Lilly grasped her hand tightly and pulled her along. The people in her way moved quickly upon seeing the look on Lilly's face and they made it out of the hall and through the compound without any trouble. Miley was lagging behind, but the blonde did not let go of her hand.

It was nearly an hour later, Lilly sitting with her back against the headboard of the bed, looking down at her friend lying on her stomach, that Miley finally met her eyes. Lilly smiled.

"Hey you," she said in a near whisper and brushed a hand across the brunette hair. "Are you in a lot of pain? Dave gave me this ointment, I don't really know what it is."

"I'm fine," Miley said, voice raspy. She reached out a hand towards Lilly and the blonde complied immediately, sliding down until she was lying next to her friend. Miley edged closer, resting her head on Lilly's shoulder and throwing her left arm across the blonde's waist. Her back was on fire, despite whatever ointment Dave had given Lilly, but she only grimaced once or twice as she curled up against her friend.

Lilly wrapped her free hand in the brunette's hair and Miley closed her eyes. "Lilly, do you ever feel like it's still worth it?"

Lilly stopped and looked down at her friend, "What do you mean?"

Miley sighed, brushing her fingertips across the bare skin of Lilly's side, "This. Why are we still hanging on?"

"You tell me," the blonde responded, dread pooling in her stomach.

"At first, I guess there was hope…one day we'd go home, but now…there's nowhere to go. We'll just be here…forever…I can't," Miley trailed off, her voice thick with tears.

Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat, "What are you saying, Miley?"

The brunette was silent for a short while. "Would you…would you do it, if I asked you to?"

Lilly stiffened. Bile rose in her throat and she blinked against the tears. No, no, no, no. Miley couldn't be asking her this. She'd do anything for her friend, she knew, but this was too much. The thought alone sent pure agony racing through her veins, piercing her heart. Her ears were ringing. She'd never loved anyone like she loved Miley, whole and unconditionally, with a deep-seated intensity and soft compassion. She would do anything for her. Anything.

"Yes." Lilly nearly choked on the word. Tears spilled from her eyes. She looked into Miley's blue eyes, "Please don't ask me to do this, Miley. Please don't make me."

Miley opened her mouth in response, but instead a sob spilled from her lips. She buried her face in Lilly's neck, clinging on as tightly as she could. They cried together, for everything they had lost and everything they could not have.

_I could possibly be fading/ Or have something more to gain/ I could feel myself growing colder/ I could feel myself under your fate/ Under...your fate/ It was you breathless and tall/ I could feel my eyes turning into dust/ And two strangers turning into dust/ Turning into dust/ -_Mazzy Star


	8. Under the Rose

What, an early update? That's how awesome you all are! I was in a good mood and decided all you great people deserved something nice. I know some of these more recent chapters have been a little depressing, but I'll let you all in on a secret: I totally believe in happy endings. So don't despair, keep reading, and keep reviewing. I might be persuaded to post early again ;)

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Under the Rose**

_Memories are just where you laid them/ Dragging the waters/ Till the depths give up their dead/ What did you expect to find?/ Was it something you left behind?/ Don't you remember anything I said/ when I said/ Don't fall away/ And leave me to myself/ Don't fall away/ And leave love bleeding/ In my hands/ _

"You didn't tell me it had eyes."

Lilly turned her head, the strong gusts of wind whipping snow into her face from all sides. The howling surrounded them and made it near impossible to hear. Snow lay before them and behind them and on them and visibility was low. She slowed her steps to let Miley catch up with her, looking at what she was pretty sure was her friend. They were both wearing hats, scarves and balaclavas to protect their heads and faces from the biting cold.

"What'd you say?"

Miley pushed closer to her friend, eyes stinging from the cold. She was exhausted, and wet and hungry and just wanted to go back to the compound. "I said, 'You think we lost the other guys'?"

Lilly glanced around them; she hadn't exactly been paying attention for the past few hundred yards. She saw something in the distance, bulky shapes moving at a snail's pace, and pointed in the direction. The others were several hundred feet ahead of them. Miley groaned and dropped her head onto the blonde's shoulder. Lilly nudged her friend and began moving again. They couldn't really afford to fall farther behind, who knew if they could find the way back to the compound on their own.

They trudged on, through the packed snow at their feet and the fierce wind threatening to blow them over. They were starting to see the backs of the rest of their group, when Miley suddenly dropped into the snow. Lilly stopped and looked down at her friend.

"Miley, come on already," the blonde urged, too cold and tired to be gentle. When the brunette didn't move, Lilly grabbed the front of her jacket and yanked her up. Instead of propelling her onto her feet, Miley just jerked forward onto her knees and fell onto all fours. The rifle slung around her shoulder hit the snow.

"I'm tired," Miley replied weakly, voice almost swallowed up by the wind.

Lilly glanced up and noticed one of the dark shapes coming closer towards them. That was never a good sign. Lagging behind was a liability, sitting down in the snow a sure death sentence. The blonde's heart sunk as she realized that was perhaps exactly what Miley was after. They hadn't talked about it since that night of Miley's punishment and Lilly had hoped it had been a one-time thing. Everyone got down and depressed sometimes and considering their circumstances their depression was bound to be more severe when it hit. But the blonde knew deep down Miley had been getting worse.

"Don't you dare, Miley. Don't you dare give up on me after everything I've done for you! I'm here because of **you**, so get up and stop being so damn selfish!"

Though she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, Lilly still knew they were more or less the truth. Without Miley, she was nothing anymore and the thought alone of her friend being gone was pure agony. Seeing her friend looking so defeated she felt guilt at her words; Lilly was afraid she had just made it worse. But part of her, the dominant part at the moment, didn't care. That part was angry beyond belief, perhaps fueled by the bitter cold and aching hunger and the bone-weary fatigue surrounding her. 

Miley practically slumped in her current position, but pushed herself up several moments later. She grabbed the rifle from the ground and fumbled to secure the strap over her shoulder again. Her hands were shaking, whether from the cold or tears, she didn't know, but it was hard to see for anyone else with the massive parka and heavy gloves covering her. She kept her eyes lowered, now adjusting the straps of the rucksack just to have something to do. Miley did not meet her friend's eyes, she couldn't. What was she supposed to do? She just wanted it to be over and she was so tired, but Lilly, she loved Lilly with all her heart and if Lilly told her not to do it, then Miley would not. She couldn't do that to her friend, not when Lilly had given up everything to save her.

Miley clenched her teeth, grabbed the strap of her rifle tightly and pushed past the blonde to follow the others. She ached all over. Her back hadn't yet healed and the pack she carried was agony against it. Her muscles were cold and weak and protested with each step. The cold air was like needle pricks inside her lungs, chilling her from the inside out. And her heart was torturing her with every traitorous beat, yet the thought of it complying with her wishes made it hurt even more knowing she'd kill Lilly in the process.

Before she knew it, she nearly collided with Frederick, who was waiting for the two girls. He scrutinized her through the eyeholes in his mask and if Miley hadn't already been so numb, she might have shivered. Frederick didn't have to say anything, both girls knew why he was looking at them like that and they knew it meant trouble.

"I fell, I'm sorry, okay? I'm tired, we haven't stopped in hours and this gear is heavy," Miley said, not knowing where her sudden stupidity was coming from. Perhaps, she reasoned, it was the anger that was making her careless.

Lilly tried not to glare at the brunette. Miley was just asking for it again, though at least she didn't think he'd kill her over back talking. Miley hadn't looked at her since she'd yelled at the girl and Lilly wasn't sure whether the guilt or the anger was winning out, yet. She hadn't wanted Miley to go on this trek in the first place.

They did perimeter checks occasionally, more so when the Divine Loser was in a more paranoid state. In all the five years Lilly had been there, a perimeter check had never been considered a fun adventure by anyone. The land the Emergence owned was large, though manageable by someone with a motor vehicle. The Disciples covered everything by foot. They walked hundreds of acres along their border to check for breaches or unwanted visitors or anything suspicious. It was hot and boring in the summer, but in winter time, especially during a snow storm, it was near unbearable. Lilly had had a feeling they'd forced Miley along just for extra punishment, perhaps for them both.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry; I didn't know you were so miserable," Frederick said, his voice even. He held out his hand towards Miley, "Give me your pack."

Lilly watched in apprehension as Frederick yanked the rucksack from Miley's hands. He opened it and pulled out the three MREs each of them had been instructed to pack. He threw the pack back at Miley's feet, "There, that should be better. It's less heavy now, that's what you wanted, right? Of course, you won't eat, but all those big words from earlier should keep you full for the day. Don't even think about back talking to me again, girl. You can thank your lucky stars it wasn't Boomer or Carla you copped an attitude with, unless you like the cane. Now get moving, both of you."

Miley snatched the lighter pack off the ground and began walking again without another word or glance. Lilly had a hard time reading her half-covered face, but perhaps she didn't want to know anyway. Miley didn't wait for her or slow down to let the blonde catch up and Lilly followed with a heavy heart. Her own words to Miley still rang in her ears. She'd accused Miley of being selfish, but in all honesty, Lilly could not tell which one of them really was the selfish one.

* * *

He stared at the TV numbly, face expressionless and eyes blank. He knew he could have changed the channel, but he could not bring himself to do it. The images flashed across the screen in rapid succession and to his unfocused eyes they were little more than a blur. He could still hear the music though, her talking, catching a glimpse here and there of blonde hair.

"I'm sorry, Ollie, I know how much you hate Hannah Montana." Another voice interrupted his mind and he started.

Oliver looked up at his girlfriend of two years and felt the old familiar guilt crash into him again. Colby turned off the TV and stared at her boyfriend with a frown. His face was slightly pale and he'd been just staring at the TV, unseeing. She sat next to him on the sofa, now worried.

"I don't hate Hannah Montana," he said softly after several moments of silence. Perhaps it was time to move on, he figured. It had been over five years and just seeing her image on TV squeezed his heart in a vice-like grip so hard he thought he'd have no choice but to die. His two best friends were long gone and maybe it was time he let go. He hadn't talked about it to anyone since he'd left Malibu.

Colby frowned at him in confusion. In the two plus years she'd known him, he'd always yelled at her to keep anything to do with Hannah Montana away from him. "What do you mean? You can't stand seeing posters of her or magazine covers and god forbid I try to play a song of hers. What's going on, Ollie?"

He sighed and turned to her. This was harder than he'd thought. "There's something I never told you, never told anyone here…because…it's just too painful. But I think I finally need to let go, you know?"

Colby just nodded softly, not wanting to interrupt. Oliver was a sweet boy and a great boyfriend, but she'd always known he carried a heavy burden with him. He'd smile and laugh and joke around and then all of a sudden he'd get this look on his face, guilty and sad, and he'd just stop.

"You remember five years ago when Hannah Montana was kidnapped?" Oliver asked the girl, voice shaky.

Colby nodded again; she remembered well. She'd been a huge Hannah Montana fan and the news that her favorite singer was missing had been devastating. It had been even worse when the police gave up the search and declared her dead.

"Well, you might remember that her real name was Miley. Miley Stewart. Miley and her best friend Lilly were kidnapped and later…well, the police said they were probably killed," Oliver's voice cracked as he talked about his friends. "What you don't know is that…Miley and Lilly were my best friends."

Colby stared at him for a few seconds, trying to process the information. Oliver had known Hannah Montana and never told her? He'd been friends with the two girls whose kidnapping had sent the nation into an uproar? Colby felt hurt that he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her before now, that he'd kept this huge thing from her when they were supposed to tell each other everything. But seeing the sorrowful look on his face, eyes watery, she realized she had no idea of the extent of his pain. He'd kept this bottled up for so long and he'd decided to share it with her at last.

"It's all my fault," he broke the silence and Colby stared at him in shock. She grabbed his hands.

"What do you mean?"

Oliver looked down at their intertwined hands, letting the guilt wash over him. He felt it every time he laughed or had a good time, every time he kissed his girlfriend or had her look with love at him. Miley and Lilly no longer had that and it wasn't fair.

"I…I was supposed to be with them. It was summer break and we were all gonna go to Six Flags; we were so excited. Only I ended up getting Mono and I couldn't go; I was laid up all summer. **I **told them to go without me. They were there, alone, because of **me!** If I'd been there none of this would've happened."

She had never seen Oliver cry before, but tears were now spilling from his eyes and dropping onto their joined hands. Colby felt a lump in her throat. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, "Oliver, this isn't your fault. Even if you had been there, those guys were professionals; they probably would have killed you, too. I'm sure your friends wouldn't have wanted that and they'd want you to be happy now."

Oliver relaxed into his girlfriend's embrace. A small part of himself was starting to believe her words and it felt good to have that immense weight lifting from his shoulders. He had never told anyone how he felt it was his fault Miley and Lilly had died. He'd been their friend, he should've been there to protect them and failing that, he should've died with them. But Oliver finally realized that living his life to the fullest was not an insult to his friends' memory. He would do it for them.

* * *

"Lilly!"

The blonde stopped reluctantly and glanced back. Frederick was coming towards her and she suppressed a groan. She hadn't done anything. They were finally back in the compound, after close to 10 hours walking the perimeter and all she wanted was a hot shower and a good, long nap. She turned when he reached her. Most of the others were already dispersing.

"Take your friend to the infirmary," Frederick said gruffly, holding his hand out for her rifle. She handed it to him, looking at him strangely.

She hadn't talked to Miley in hours, not since their fight. In all honesty, it hadn't really been a fight; it'd been Lilly yelling at her friend and Miley acting insulted. That had been hours ago and Miley had done a decent job ignoring the blonde since then. Lilly had even tried sneaking her some food when they'd taken breaks; she might be mad at the girl, but she wouldn't let her go without eating. Instead, Miley had just sat, staring off into the vast nothingness, probably starving.

"What's wrong with her?" Lilly asked. A tiny bit of guilt resurfaced. Had she been too busy being angry with her friend to realize she'd gotten hurt or something?

"That I can't answer, but she doesn't look too good," Frederick said and jerked his head towards the direction the brunette was in. He threw a stern look at the blonde and walked away.

Lilly sighed. She wasn't dumb enough to ignore a direct order from someone so high up in the food chain, but she'd really been looking forward to that hot shower. She felt more guilt for her lack of caring, but she pushed it away; she was still mad at Miley. Lilly made her way over to where Miley was slowly trekking up the incline; she'd been lagging behind again. The snowstorm had abated and though the sky was still gray, Lilly could see her friend's face for the first time in hours. Frederick had been right and Lilly felt angry with herself for needing one of the jerks keeping them here to tell her to take care of her friend. They were all they had.

"Miley," she said softly when the brunette reached her, but Miley looked away. Lilly heaved a sigh. Miley was the most stubborn person she'd ever met. She grabbed her friend's arm, dragging her along. She could feel her shaking. "You're coming with me."

It wasn't long before they were outside the infirmary. It was a larger, wooden building, built much sturdier than the shacks around it. It had a small treatment/exam room, Dave's own quarters and a back room with a couple of beds in case anyone needed closer supervision. Miley hated the infirmary with a passion and normally Lilly wouldn't be able to drag her within a hundred feet. This time, the brunette barely resisted and it made Lilly worry. Either Miley was in bad shape or she was really mad at Lilly. Neither were good options. She dragged her friend inside.

"Dave!"

The older man came out of his quarters and sighed when he saw the girls. It was never easy dealing with the two, mainly because of their crazy over protectiveness of each other. He noticed their heavy attire, the huge parkas and gloves and hats and remembered seeing them leave for the perimeter check. He shook his head.

"What can I help you with?" he asked as he came closer. They stood in the little waiting area that held two chairs and a desk, looking completely out of place.

Lilly shrugged and pushed the brunette forward slightly, "Miley's not feeling well."

Miley wanted to roll her eyes at her friend. She was still mad at Lilly for what she'd said and she was angry with herself for hurting her friend in the first place. She didn't really know what she wanted anymore. Though she knew she didn't want to be here, regardless of how numb her hands were.

"I'm fine," Miley ground out. Her teeth were chattering.

Dave took one look at her, shaking from head to toe, breathing rapidly, face pale, and motioned for them to come into the exam room. Miley looked like she was about to refuse, but Lilly nudged her forward until they were in the room and shut the door. Dave sat in the chair by the door and nodded towards Lilly.

"She needs to get out of those wet clothes," he said, pulling something out of a cabinet. He wasn't even going to attempt getting that close to his patient, not anymore. Miley didn't let anyone but Lilly get that close and if he tried Lilly would just try to punch him. He thought it safer away from them.

He watched as Lilly moved to undo her friend's parka, but Miley moved away from her. Dave frowned, something wasn't right. The brunette pulled her gloves off with her mouth and fumbled for the zipper on her parka. Dave watched her unable to grasp it and sighed. He'd told those idiots 10 hour hikes through snowstorms were bad ideas. He stood and crossed his arms.

"Miley, if you don't let Lilly help you I will cut those clothes off of you," he said sternly.

Lilly shrugged off her own parka and gloves and moved towards her friend again. Miley wouldn't meet her eyes, but didn't protest when Lilly unzipped the parka and pushed it off her shoulders. Without the heavy jacket Miley was shaking even more noticeably. Lilly unbuttoned the pants and pushed them down the brunette's hips, leaving her in only her thermal underwear. The shaking only got worse and Lilly gently pushed Miley to sit on the gurney so she could take off her boots, socks, snow pants and thermals. Grabbing the hem of the wet thermal top, Lilly peeled it off her friend, working hard to maneuver Miley's arms through the sleeves.

Dave handed Lilly a pair of sweats and she managed to give him a small smile. Years ago Miley would have freaked over being naked in front of a near stranger, but now she didn't resist when Lilly stripped off her underwear and redressed her in the sweats. She unfolded the blanket at the foot of the gurney and draped it around her friend's shaking shoulders. Dave, feeling it was safe enough, stepped up to the gurney and held out a thermometer for Miley. She let him stick it in her mouth without protest. When Dave read the display he frowned. Lilly didn't like the look on his face.

"What's wrong, Dave?" she said in a warning tone. She'd felt how cold Miley was and she didn't like it one bit. Dave went to another cabinet to grab something and Miley laid back on the gurney, closing her eyes. Lilly didn't like that either.

"Just mild hypothermia, but I want to keep her here overnight. I'm gonna get her a heating blanket and some warm IV fluids in her and she'll be right as rain," Dave said, handing the blanket to a suspicious looking Lilly. He tried to smile at her; he wasn't lying, she was just too overprotective. "Help me get her out to the bay."

Lilly decided he didn't have the guts to lie to her and leaned down to get her friend off the gurney and into one of the beds in the adjacent sick bay. Miley didn't budge, just shaking excessively and drawing rapid breaths. Lilly sighed and pulled the brunette up regardless, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her as they walked. Miley still felt cold against her.

They had her in one of the beds and covered with the heating blanket within minutes, though Dave couldn't start an IV until she stopped shaking so severely. Lilly looked around, noting in relief all the other beds were empty and grabbed more blankets from them to pile onto her friend. She then sat on the bed next to Miley's, looking at the brunette.

"Lilly," Dave sighed, knowing her intentions, "you know I can't let you stay."

The blonde glared at him. She knew it wasn't his choice, but she still didn't have to like it. She shrugged, "Fine, then I'll take her back to the shack. I'm not leaving her here alone."

Dave wanted to groan. Those girls were impossible to deal with; he should've just kicked them out of the infirmary when he'd first seen them. "If she goes back out into that weather and if she doesn't get warmed up properly she could easily die. Is that what you want?"

He knew it wasn't what she wanted, but the way she glanced at Miley before glaring at him was odd. Dave knew she wasn't planning on leaving, regardless.

"I'm fine on my own," Miley ground out, eyes still closed as she clutched the pile of woolen blankets on top of her with uncooperative hands. She was still angry and the anger allowed her to be braver than she really was. It was her fault Lilly was here and she didn't need Lilly to constantly take care of her. She was a grown woman after all.

Lilly narrowed her eyes at Miley's words. Why was she even bothering? Either Miley was so angry with her she really didn't want her around, or she'd lied to Lilly out of spite or anger. Lilly couldn't remember the last time Miley had lied to her. She figured she was done fighting and shrugged. Throwing a glance at Dave, who looked utterly shocked, she walked out of the bay and back into the exam room to grab her stuff. If Miley wanted to be alone, then Lilly would oblige her. Then she heard a loud crash.

Rushing back into the bay, the blonde tried not to smirk. Dave was sitting on the floor, holding a hand to his eye and Miley sat on the edge of the bed, looking furious. Dave got up and turned to glare at Lilly, "Take her with you, I don't want her here."

Lilly stepped forward slowly, not liking how serious he sounded. "You said she'd die if she left."

She glanced at the brunette, sitting amidst her mass of blankets, looking slightly disoriented. Lilly walked over, picking up the bag of IV solution off the ground and turned to Dave.

"Well, if she keeps punching people trying to help her, there's really no point to her being here," Dave said, arms crossed. He was angry she'd gotten the better of him and punched him when he was trying to help. Of course, Dave knew it was partly because he was embarrassed and partly because he hadn't remembered.

Lilly scoffed, "You know she doesn't like anyone touching her."

Dave shook his head; he knew she was right, but that didn't make him any less mad at the brunette. "I've done IVs on her before, and exams."

"Yeah, and what was different between all those times and now?"

The older man sighed heavily, "You were there."

"Yeah," Lilly said softly and stepped right up to Miley, who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking. Lilly put her hands on Miley's thighs, her hands like fire against the brunette's cold skin, even through the sweats.

"Hell, Lilly," Dave breathed, "that's not good."

She threw him an empty look and he knew not to argue, "It's all we got."

Lilly turned back towards the brunette, reaching the pile of blankets. Miley met Lilly's eyes as the blonde was drawing the blankets back around her shoulders. "Lilly, I... I'm sorry. You always have to take care of me and I…you shouldn't have to; you're here because of me and you shouldn't have to be."

Lilly sighed and leaned her forehead against Miley's, "Miles, I'm sorry for what I said; it just didn't come out right. What I meant to say was that I am here **for** you, that I did what I did because I wanted to be with you, being your best friend. If you left me then…where would I be? I take care of you because I want to, Miley, because I love you and because we're in this together, alright?"

When Miley nodded against her softly, Lilly leaned up and pressed her lips to her friend's forehead, "Now Dave's gonna put in the IV and you are not going to punch him."

Dave wasn't too keen on another disastrous attempt, but Lilly's eyes left little room for argument. He approached Miley with apprehension, but she only moved to put her head on Lilly's shoulder. He had the IV started in less than a minute and hung the bag by a hook over the bed, feeling immense relief at not having been punched a second time. He nodded towards Lilly, "Get her back under the blankets and make sure she doesn't move. Then I want you out of here."

Lilly complied with his instructions, tucking the multiple blankets around her friend and kissing her cheek, before turning back to Dave. "I'm gonna go shower and eat and I'll be back."

Dave frowned; he thought he'd made himself clear. "What do you mean 'you'll be back'?"

Grabbing her parka and gloves off the ground, Lilly got dressed again and grinned at the man before leaving, "I have a feeling that after dinner my knee's gonna act up again."

"Your knee?"

"Yeah, you know, all that walking today must have aggravated the old injury. I think I'll be able to just make it here, but then I should probably rest it for say a night or so."

Dave scoffed and shook his head. He watched her leave and wondered what he had ever done to deserve this. Those girls were impossible. He glanced at his watch; another hour until dinner. He might as well go monitor his patient. From far away though, he silently added.

* * *

He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. Glancing up, he watched the tall man coming towards his table and tapped his foot nervously. He stopped, realizing he was the picture of someone up to no good and dropped his eyes to the napkin in front of him. Boomer slid back into the booth across from him and took another sip of his coffee. The large man had been somewhat suspicious of Malcolm, when the explosives expert had suggested this diner for a quick break before heading back to the compound. But so far Malcolm hadn't left his seat and the pie here really was marvelous. Perhaps the Divine Leader was right to trust this guy after all.

Malcolm swirled the dregs in the bottom of his cup, trying hard to look bored. The Divine Leader had sent him on a supply run, specifically on a run to make contact with a criminal in neighboring Glasgow to buy some C4. Adama had been rather persistent lately that Malcolm craft some intricate booby traps to be used outside the compound; it seemed he was getting more and more paranoid. Everything had been working as Malcolm wanted it, until Boomer decided to come along. The man was still highly suspicious of him and hadn't let him out of his sights once. Malcolm didn't even want to risk going to the bathroom.

And he was so close. Three tables down was a middle-aged man in jeans and t-shirt and across from him a blonde woman in casual slacks. They looked like tourists just passing through, but Malcolm knew better. They were part of the contingent of agents on this task force, ready to make contact with him should he wish to do so. And considering the news he had, he definitely wished to do so.

Boomer grunted at him and got up. Malcolm knew it was his clue to follow. They walked past the other tables and Malcolm looked ahead. He hoped this would work and Boomer wouldn't notice anything amiss and the two agents were sharp enough to know what he was doing. When he passed their table he moved to stuff his money into the pocket of his pants. A napkin he'd been holding in his hand dropped, but he didn't notice. Malcolm kept walking, following Boomer out of the diner.

John Larkin was talking to the woman across from him, laughing at something she had just said. He noticed the man accidentally dropping a napkin on the ground and walking away. John didn't turn, instead taking another sip from his coffee. Shirley reached for her water glass and accidentally knocked her purse to the ground. John, ever the gentleman, bent down to retrieve the items that had been knocked out, stuffing the napkin from the ground into her purse as well. They carried on like nothing was amiss, though both couldn't help but wondering whether they'd finally gotten their break. They couldn't wait to return to base to read what Malcolm had written.

_Oh hold me now/ I feel contagious/ Am I the only place/ That you've left to go/ She cries her life is like/ Some movie black and white/ Dead actors, faking lines/ Over and over and over again she cries/ Don't fall away/ And leave me to myself/ Don't fall away/ And leave love bleeding/ In my hands/ -_ Fuel


	9. All Along the Watchtower

I totally meant to post yesterday and forgot...do I keep doing that or what? Thanks to those of you who reviewed, I greatly appreciate it. Reading your reviews makes me want to write just to give you what you want...and of course, it makes me want to write something great. Some of you perhaps think the story has gotten a little slow, so I've put a small cliffhanger here just to excite you people. Just a small one, though, I promise. Now, on with the show!

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**Chapter 9 – All Along The Watchtower**

_There must be some kind of way out of here/ said the joker to the thief/ there's too much confusion/ I can't get no relief/_

Jackson stood in silence, jaw clenched tightly, brow furrowed. No one was around to see him, but he still did not want to cry. Lifting his gaze from off the ground his eyes finally fell upon the stone. He sighed, the old familiar ache settling in his chest. His mother had been dead for 11 years, but he knew he'd never totally get over the hurt. It wasn't the same, of course.

While living in Malibu they hadn't come to see her grave very regularly, but now that he was back in Tennessee Jackson went a few times a year. Today was the anniversary of her death and he'd felt some silly obligation to this day. He'd already spoken to his father earlier that day; the older man had been as well as expected. He was dealing in his own way. Jackson thought of his stepmother. It had been two years, but he still didn't know how to feel about it. Back when his father first had started dating again after his wife's death, Jackson hadn't been all that upset. He hadn't been upset this time, either, but somehow his dad marrying Heather Truscott had seemed to Jackson like clutching at straws. At Miley straws.

Jackson sighed again. He took the carnations he held in his hands and divided them up into two equal parts. One he laid on his mother's grave. The other he laid on the grave next to hers. Jackson stared at the gravestone and clenched his jaw again. He'd loved his sister, perhaps more than he'd ever realized when she was alive and now all he had left of her was this rock with her name on it, marking an empty spot. It was supposed to bring closure, they'd said, an empty grave. Jackson didn't feel any sort of closure.

He'd fought with Miley that day, as they always did, but that day ended up being different. Home for the summer, Jackson had made it his mission to torture his sister. That morning he'd managed to use all the hot water, drink the last of the milk and ruin her favorite shirt. He'd laughed, then, and she'd left. And Jackson had never seen her again. She'd died, after being tortured and terrified. Jackson bit his tongue, but his eyes still pricked with tears. The old, familiar anger returned; those men that had taken his sister were still out there and he wanted nothing more than to make them suffer.

Jackson remembered the anger, the fury those first few days, weeks. He'd blamed everyone. The police, incompetent fools. The press, making things worse. The kidnappers, greedy bastards. His father, for not protecting Miley better. He'd held onto that anger for a while, straining the relationship with the only family he'd had left. He was okay with his father again, but some part of Jackson wasn't sure if he ever forgave him. He knew it wasn't fair; they'd both lost Miley. Neither of them seemed to ever have gotten over it.

He glanced at his watch. It was getting late and his girlfriend would be waiting for him. He smiled as he could almost hear his sister's mocking voice at Jackson having a girlfriend for more than a week. She'd been good to him, though he knew she wondered. He hadn't told her about this, his family, his life before coming back to Tennessee. He was closed off, but maybe tonight he would change that. Tonight he'd tell her about Miley.

"Mom, take good care of Miles, okay? I love you both."

His voice only wavered slightly and he drew in a deep breath. Jackson threw one last glance at the graves of his mother and sister, before walking away.

* * *

Lilly was lying back on the bed, blankets twisted around her legs. Miley was pressing against her, her mouth on the blonde's. It was hot, the warm air and Miley's body radiating heat against her and Lilly was sweating. Miley's tongue brushed across her bottom lip and she moaned. There was an urgency to the way Miley was kissing her, but it was still so slow and soft that Lilly was losing herself. Her hands were tangled in the brunette hair, her lips on fire from Miley's touch.

She tasted salt, felt the wetness on her lips. Lilly opened her eyes, snapping back into herself. She pushed Miley off with difficulty, sitting up to look at her friend.

"Miley, what's wrong?" Her voice was rough, as if they'd been making out for hours. Perhaps they had; Lilly had lost all track of time after Miley had kissed her.

The brunette's chest was heaving, her skin on fire, her lips tingling. She looked at Lilly. Lilly loved her, she knew that, she could see that in her friend's eyes, but she'd still stopped her. Miley felt fingertips on her cheek brushing away the tears and realized she'd been crying. She sighed and scooted back to rest against the wall.

"I just…it only stops hurting when I'm with you," she said softly, feeling stupid now. She'd come back to the shack to find Lilly sitting on the bed, reading a book, and her heart, that aching traitor in her chest, had burst with happiness. She'd practically attacked her friend.

Lilly scooted up next to her friend, taking Miley's hand in hers. "You only feel okay when you're making out with me?"

Miley threw her a look, "I didn't hear you complaining."

"Yes, I remember my tongue being otherwise engaged at the time," Lilly smirked, but Miley looked down.

"So, you don't like it?"

Lilly frowned, "What?"

Miley pointed between them, "This…thing…we're doing."

"I love you, Miley, you know that," the blonde said softly, looking at her friend.

"Yeah but…what's happening? Inside I know this is different from before. I love you with all my heart and this…I can't not."

Lilly moved until she was kneeling in front of Miley, taking both her hands in hers, "Miles, does it make you feel happy? Do you feel loved?"

Miley nodded. Lilly smiled at her. "Miley, anything that can still make our hearts burst with happiness after everything is just right. You and me, we are right, no matter what. Love doesn't need a definition, it just is."

The brunette met her eyes and grinned. "You've gone mushy on me over the years, Lils."

Lilly gaped at her. "Oh please, 'I love you with all my heart, Lilly', 'I only feel happy around you'. Any of that ring a bell?"

"I was confused, I didn't know what I was saying. It was the endorphins," Miley said in all seriousness.

Lilly grinned and moved before Miley had a chance to move. The blonde pushed her friend into the mattress, holding her down with her own body. Miley laughed and it was like sweet music to Lilly's ears.

"Miley Ray Stewart, what am I going to do with you?"

Miley's eyes met hers and the emotion swirling in them nearly took Lilly's breath away. "Kiss me?"

Lilly looked into those blue eyes, feeling the love surround her, wrap them up like a warm embrace. She leaned down and brought their lips together. Lilly wanted to cry; she felt the love and the pain and the anger and the despair that flowed through them both. She understood now.

* * *

Malcolm was sweating. He looked around the compound at the face of every person that passed him, but he did not see the girls. How had this gone wrong already before it even started? His breath rose as fog into the air and a cold wind blew against him. It was a dark day, grey cloud cover hiding the sun and some flurries of snow had whipped through the air earlier. The weather was not ideal, but they had decided to move fast.

He turned on his heel down one of the muddy paths. He'd scoped out all the shacks over the past few weeks, the whole layout of the camp, and went straight to where he knew the girls lived. At this point, if something he did looked suspicious, it would probably be already too late anyway. He knocked on their door and pushed it open when he received no answer. Empty. Running a frustrated hand across his forehead, Malcolm turned around.

The other agents had gotten his note; they knew Hannah Montana and her friend were being kept in this godforsaken place. They hadn't been able to get him much information in the days since, but he knew a judge had signed a search warrant almost immediately. The closest field office was in Salt Lake City and it had taken some time for them to mobilize a force to deal with the compound. This was going to be big. Yesterday a stranger had accosted him in a Glasgow bathroom, who had informed him the FBI was planning to move in today. And Malcolm's sole job was to secure the girls.

He turned to look for them in a different direction, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Malcolm nearly punched the person but stopped himself when he saw Boomer's dark face looming above him. The larger man motioned for him to follow and Malcolm saw no way out. They trudged up the hill towards the dining hall and Malcolm noticed several Disciples walking urgently, some with panicked looks on their faces.

"What's going on?"

Boomer glanced around, making sure none of the lower disciples were around to hear him. "The Leader got word that the FBI is making a move on Breakers East today. We need you to set up the perimeter, like we've planned."

Malcolm nearly stopped in shock, but forced himself on. How had they found out? He thought back to when he'd first met Adama and the leader had mentioned the FBI task force on him. Did they have a traitor amongst the FBI agents assigned to the task force? Malcolm knew that only someone on the inside could have known when the attack was planned. What did it mean for the hundreds of people involved in the FBI assault? Adama had tasked Malcolm with setting up a perimeter of IEDs to protect the compound. He hadn't been able to set all of them up for failure. Not to mention the huge cache of weapons and other explosives he knew Adama kept in his bunker. This could easily turn into disaster.

They entered the dining hall, which was mostly empty as everyone was supposed to be out on their job details. That's when Malcolm saw them, Miley and Lilly, sitting together at one of the tables. Their heads were ducked and they were clearly talking about something, though when Lilly spotted him, her eyes followed his progress through the hall. He'd finally found them and now he could do nothing but follow Boomer down into the bunker. This was going to end in disaster.

Lilly watched him walk away with relief and turned back to her friend. Collins had creeped her out from the moment she set eyes on him; there was something not right about that guy. Miley grasped her hand and entwined their fingers. Lilly looked at her and tried to suppress a sigh. Miley's emotions were all over the place lately and though the only time she'd been bad with Lilly had been that day in the snow, Lilly didn't like it one bit. She didn't like the sad look on her best friend's face, or the tears, or the fact that she knew Miley still thought about **it** some days. They didn't talk about any of it; she knew it would do no good. She could only be there for Miley and hold her and kiss her and wipe the tears away, until next time.

Lilly stood with a heavy sigh, pulling the brunette up as well. She wrapped her arms around her friend tightly, squeezing her for good measure. Sometimes she just had to remind Miley that she was there. Miley relaxed into her embrace and to Lilly it was the best feeling in the world; Miley so close against her, them breathing as one, their hearts in synch. Though, she thought with a wry grin, kissing Miley was also on top of her best feelings in the world list.

She pulled away slightly and tilted the brunette's chin up with her hand. Lilly pressed her lips to Miley's almost forcefully, but gently. She let the contact linger several moments, before pulling away and then kissed her again. And again, and again, until Miley finally smiled. Lilly smiled back.

"I swear, I think you just do that so I keep kissing you," she said with a mock glare.

Miley managed another smile, "That theory has merit."

Lilly took her hand again and began walking to the exit. Some Disciples rushed past them. Lilly took her rifle from the rack by the door and slung it over her shoulder. They walked outside into the cold afternoon air and the blonde looked at her friend, "You okay to go back to work?"

Miley frowned, not even wanting to think about going back to Carla, "Do I have to?"

Lilly shook her head, "Nah, let's just run away."

Miley nodded seriously, playing along. They both knew running away was not an option, especially not in the dead of winter. "Sure, let me just grab my suitcase."

They grinned at each other and walked hand-in-hand down the incline. A huge fireball shot into the distant sky and the ground rumbled. Then, all hell broke loose.

_No reason to get excited/ the thief he kindly spoke/ there aren't many here among us/ who feel that life is but a joke/ but you and I/ we've been through that/ and this is not our fate/ so let us stop talking falsely now/ the hour is getting late/ _- Bob Dylan


	10. Lay Down Your Burdens

I've been trying to update for a while now, but my Internet is not cooperating. So perhaps if hordes of my loyal fans descend upon my ISP with pitchforks, they'll get their shit together and fix my Internet. Just a suggestion ;) So I noticed some of you thought I lied about the "small" cliffhanger last part. I apologize...I really only meant "small" in relation to the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter...it's going to be HUGE. I know you're all mad, but just think...if you stone me to death, you will never find out what happens! So read, enjoy and tell me what you think...

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Lay Down Your Burdens**

_Is that alright with you?/ Give my gun away when it's loaded/ Is that alright with you?/ Leave me out with the waste/ This is not what I do/ It's the wrong kind of place/ To be cheating on you/ _

"Everybody man your positions!"

The loud wailing of a wavering siren fell across the compound and streams of Disciples flooded out of the shacks. People were shouting, some running to different sections of the compound, rifles clutched in their hands. Some women were leading a string of children towards the dining hall, probably to seek shelter in the bunker below. Many of the children were crying. Gunshots rang out and Miley's hand twitched in hers. Lilly felt the world return to focus.

The Emergence had practiced for this scenario, so many times Lilly could probably run through it in her sleep. Enemy combatants outside the compound. Her job was to open fire from the northern watchtower; she'd proven fairly successful with a rifle. She didn't even know what Miley was supposed to be doing, but she didn't think it would be anything good. Bullet sponge, perhaps. She shook her head and looked around at the frenzy.

"We need to get out of here!" she said to the brunette, who only stared at her numbly. Lilly had no intentions of fighting alongside people she had despised for five years. She did not care who was outside the gates.

One Disciple roughly bumped into her shoulder, running past. It seemed as if everyone was armed; she did not see a single Disciple who was not holding a rifle or at the very least a handgun. The ground shook again, the roar of another explosion ripping through the air. More distant gunfire could be heard; the enemy was fighting back apparently.

Lilly tugged on Miley's hand, pushing her way through the people fighting to get to the gates and towers to do their jobs. She didn't know where to go. The compound was surrounded not only by fence, but now most likely by enemies who wouldn't hesitate to shoot at two girls. There was no solution. A heavy weight settled on Lilly's chest as she realized they would not be able to get out alive. Did she want to walk down to the gates and die in a blaze of glory? One look at Miley told her that was definitely not how she wanted to go.

Someone fired their gun from the middle of the compound, the loud shots ringing in Lilly's ear. She pulled Miley along, between the rows of shacks. She just wanted to get away. Realizing she still had her rifle slung over one shoulder she threw it to the ground. She wouldn't need it anymore, anyway. There were fewer Disciples along the muddy paths, though it seemed as if a few others, too, were hiding out.

Fire erupted in front of them, noise threatening to burst her eardrums and suddenly an invisible hand flung her off her feet. Lilly landed on her shoulder, pain shot up her arm and she rolled onto her back with a groan. Her face stung and her ears were ringing so loudly all noise sounded as if behind a filter. Lilly opened her eyes to the dirt hanging in the air, noticing the flattened shacks surrounding her. Rolling back onto her stomach, she managed to push herself to her knees.

The first thing she noticed was the dead body lying only a few feet away from her, the Disciple's blank eyes staring straight ahead. She did not remember his name. Lilly looked around the shambles. Her heart thundered in panic. Blood dripped into her eyes and she angrily swiped at her forehead.

"Miley!"

Her own voice sounded funny and hollow to her ears. She stood on shaky legs. Her shoulder protested at every movement. Muffled gunshots sounded somewhere behind her and she flinched. Lilly's eyes swept across the broken wood and dirt. Miley was lying on her side between some broken wooden slats; Lilly was next to her within a split-second.

"Miley?" she turned her friend onto her back. Miley groaned, grabbing Lilly's upper arm with her right hand.

"Lils, did you get the plates?"

The blonde stared at her friend dumbfounded. Maybe she'd heard her wrong with all the ringing in her head. Miley stared at her.

"The plates? From the truck that ran me over?"

Lilly raised an eyebrow at the brunette. Miley was odd, but perhaps that was what she loved about her. Lilly ducked across her friend as several Disciples thundered by; she hoped they'd ignore them and think they were unconscious or dead. As soon as they left, the blonde sat back up. Miley frowned at her and reached out a hand towards Lilly's face.

"Lilly, you're bleeding," Miley said softly.

Lilly pushed her hand away, "I'm fine, Miles." She wasn't totally sure, but figured if it didn't hurt too bad, it wasn't that serious. She almost reached out a hand to the cut that vanished in Miley's hairline; it was bleeding a fair amount, but not too bad. Lilly stopped herself and grabbed her friend's hand instead, pulling her up. The brunette doubled over, as if to catch her breath.

"Come on, let's keep moving."

Miley stumbled a few times behind her, but Lilly kept a firm hold on her hand. She wanted to go to the bunker, but knew they'd keep a watch on that. Suddenly an epiphany hit her and she turned abruptly, cutting through the shacks that were still standing. The middle of the compound had cleared out a lot since the last time they'd been there and she dragged Miley through to the other side. It was still standing.

She moved towards the doorway quickly. Another explosion rocked the ground, but this time it was farther away. Lilly pulled her friend inside and threw the rickety wooden door shut; not that it would provide much protection. The noise immediately quieted down. Miley stared at her in confusion.

"Why are we in the brig, Lilly?" Miley shuddered, this place held nothing but bad memories.

"It's concrete, I can't really think of anywhere safer we can get to," Lilly said and moved to the middle cell. The cell door pushed open and she went inside.

"What are we doing here?" Miley asked, her voice almost a whisper as she followed Lilly into the cell.

Their eyes met and Lilly swallowed hard. Suddenly she felt cold. There really was no good answer and they both knew it. If they managed to hide safely from the carnage, whoever won would surely kill them; either the enemy for being there or the Disciples for cowardice. Lilly knew she hadn't brought them here to survive.

"Miley, I…" she trailed off, glancing around the cell and turned back to her friend, "if we're gonna…I…"

Despite her incoherent ramblings, Miley pulled her closer and managed a weak smile. The brunette kissed her softly and wrapped her arms around her friend, mumbling in her ear, "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else, either, when it ends."

Lilly felt a lump in her throat and rapidly tried to blink the tears away. She wanted to enjoy what time she had left, not spend it crying. Wrapping her one good arm around the brunette, Lilly squeezed and deeply inhaled the scent that was so inherently Miley. She closed her eyes and pressed a kiss to her friend's cheek. Suddenly their lips were pressed together, an urgency to their kisses they had never experienced before. Miley's tongue brushed against hers and hot fire raced through her body.

She maneuvered them backwards until Miley's legs hit the cot, neither daring to come up for air. Lilly gently pushed the brunette onto the cot, pressing her own body against Miley's as she climbed on top. She grasped Miley's hands in hers, intertwining their fingers. Her skin was burning and her head was spinning. She needed air, but Miley **was** her air, her everything. She nipped at the brunette's bottom lip and Miley groaned into her mouth. Lilly released Miley's hands and suddenly her fingers were running under the brunette's shirt, trailing along the bare skin of her abdomen. Miley shuddered and Lilly looked at her.

Her own emotions reflected back at her from Miley's eyes – fear, lust, despair, but most of all, love. She kissed Miley's lips, then each of her cheeks, her eyelids and her forehead. They stared into each other's eyes and Lilly felt like crying, again. It was the end, but still, there was so much love left inside of her.

"Miley," she said so softly it was almost a whisper. Their eyes were still locked, "If I'm going to die, I want to die making love to you."

They stared at each other for several more seconds, before Miley pulled her back down into a slow kiss.

* * *

Miley was panting in her ear, her pulse racing against Lilly's lips where she was brushing them across the other girl's neck. Lifting her eyes, she watched the look on the brunette's face in reverence. Ecstatic, so relaxed, so unlike the past five years and Lilly wanted to cry. Tears dripped from her eyes onto Miley's shirt. They hadn't bothered with clothes; there was so little time for them to be together. The sounds of the fighting were coming closer.

Suddenly Miley grabbed the back of her neck with her free hand and pulled her down, crushing her lips to Lilly's. She moaned into Lilly's mouth and tensed up, gripping the blonde tighter against her. Lilly closed her eyes and gasped as she felt herself go over the edge as well. It wasn't like anything she had felt before. For just that split-second it was just Miley and her, connected so deeply and purely, that nothing else even registered in her brain. No pain, no sadness, not imminent death, she just felt pure love and elation like she hadn't ever thought possible.

When the real world came rushing back at her, she wanted to push it away. The sound of gunfire still echoed in the compound, seemingly coming closer. Perhaps she heard screaming. Lilly looked into Miley's impossibly beautiful eyes and leaned down to kiss her softly. She tasted salt, but couldn't tell which one of them was crying this time. She didn't want it to end. Pushing herself up on one elbow, Lilly reached out a hand to brush a strand of hair behind the brunette's ear. Her shoulder protested at the movement, but she ignored it. In just a little while, there would be no more pain.

"I love you, Miles," she said softly, the hint of a smile on her lips.

Miley brushed her fingertips across Lilly's lips, "I love you, too, Lilly."

Lilly knew then it had all been worth it in the end. Every tear, every drop of blood spilled, every cut and bruise; she knew she would not change a thing if she could. It was all worth it just being with Miley. She moved to lie on her side next to the brunette, one hand tracing idle patterns on her friend's bare abdomen. A light sheen of sweat clung to Miley's skin and it felt cold against her fingertips. A cold draft was coming through the small window and from under the door.

The boom of another explosion shook the building. Yelling could be heard. Miley's breaths were rapid, little clouds of fog expelled into the cold air. She reached for Lilly's shirt, fingers curling tightly into the fabric.

"Lilly, they're coming," her voice cracked and tears pooled in her eyes.

Lilly cupped the brunette's cheek, trying to convey as much love and reassurance with one touch as she could, "It's okay. We'll be together, 'till the end."

Miley wrapped her arms around the blonde, burrowing her head in Lilly's chest. She was shaking, whether from the tears or the cold, Lilly did not know. Tears ran down Lilly's cheeks as well and she bit her lip to keep from sobbing. She never expected to meet her end in a concrete prison cell, waiting for her executioner. Lilly's arms wrapped around Miley, holding on as tightly as she could. She would not let anyone or anything tear them apart at the end, either.

Miley looked up at her with teary eyes, her voice barely audible as she whispered, "Thank you."

The wooden door burst open and a bullet struck the wall above their heads. People were yelling outside, their voices interrupted by the clear staccato of gunfire. A large shadow entered the doorway and Lilly looked up. She pressed Miley's head closer against her chest and let out a shaky breath. Boomer took a step into the brig and raised his gun. Lilly squeezed her eyes shut, arms tightening around Miley. A gunshot sounded. Another and she felt pain. Then there was nothing.

_It's the wrong time/ She's pulling me through/ It's a small crime/ And I've got no excuse/ Is that alright with you?/ Give my gun away when it's loaded/ Is that alright with you?/ If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it/ _- Damien Rice


	11. The Kids Are Alright

A day early, really? That's cause you're all so awesome and I just felt bad leaving you all hanging like that. This fic has some life in it, yet...make sure to keep it alive with your reviews ;)

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**Chapter 11 – The Kids Are Alright**

_Spend all your time waiting/ For that second chance/ For a break that would make it ok/ There's always some reason/ To feel not good enough/ And it's hard at the end of the day/ I need some distraction/ Oh beautiful release/ Memory seep from my veins/ Let me be empty and, oh, weightless/ And maybe I'll find some peace tonight/ _

She was floating. A softness embraced her body and she felt so light she knew immediately where she was. There was no pain in her body now, not like she was used to. She couldn't open her eyes they were so heavy, but she could see the blinding white from behind her eyelids. Every part of her felt incredibly heavy and she wondered if that's how it was supposed to be. Her left hand twitched and for the first time she noticed the rough warmth wrapped around it. It did not feel like it was supposed to. A bad feeling settled in her chest at the thought. If there was a hand holding hers and it was not the one she was used to, then whose was it and where was the one she needed it to be? If this was heaven, then why was it not Lilly holding her hand?

Miley wanted the heaviness gone now. She remembered Lilly clutching her so tightly before she heard the gunshot and felt the searing pain in her chest. She had been ready to die, but she hadn't wanted to lose Lilly in the process. Where was her best friend?

She tried to clench her left hand again and suddenly something rough brushed against her face. It was not Lilly and she wanted it away from her. Panic started settling in her chest. Miley thought she heard voices, but they were so muffled and dull it was as if she was hearing them underwater. She tried to open her eyes again, but they did not cooperate. Perhaps she could call for Lilly, but her throat and mouth were so dry she could hardly move her tongue. The floating feeling was slowly ebbing away and she became aware of more parts of her body.

Something cold was in her nose, making her throat hurt worse. A burning pain took over her chest and she clenched her hands. The voice from before sounded closer now, but she still could not make out what it was saying. She knew enough; it wasn't Lilly. She wanted Lilly.

"Lil…" she managed to croak, the sound of her own voice scaring even her.

"Miley," the muffled voice said, though this time she could mostly understand it.

She tried to lick her lips; she couldn't remember eating all this sand. "Lilly," she got out at last, voice weak and scratchy, but sounding almost normal.

"Miley, just open your eyes, honey."

That voice again. It was clearer now and she thought she knew it. She tried to open her eyes again. The light blinded her as soon as she got them just a tiny bit open and she closed them again. The voice was egging her on and she wanted it to stop. Lilly would have let her be. She blinked her eyes open again, squinting feebly at the light. The first thing she saw was a face so close to her own her immediate instinct was to lash out. Her arm did not cooperate in its heaviness. She tried to shrink away, eyes only slowly focusing.

"Miley," the face above her breathed, pulling back slightly.

She blinked and stared at the face. It was a little different than she remembered, older, more worn perhaps, but she recognized it at last. Tears filled her eyes.

"Daddy?"

"Oh, Miley," Robbie Ray exhaled, both hands now clutching her left one. She tried to pull away weakly. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms, but he didn't want to hurt her. And she looked so confused and scared.

"I'm…dead?" she asked, wondering why her mother wasn't there if she was in heaven. And Lilly.

Robbie Ray stared at his daughter, confused. "What?" He tried to think back to what the FBI agents had told him, but he hadn't heard much of anything after 'your daughter is alive'. They'd mentioned something about the end of the world. "You're alive, honey, and it's a doggone miracle."

Miley scrunched up her face and slowly lifted her right hand to where she could see. An IV catheter was taped to the back of her hand. She touched her face tentatively. She **felt** real. She looked at her dad, who was watching her with apprehension. He was crying and Miley couldn't remember the last time she had seen him cry.

"You're not dead?" she asked weakly and when he shook his head, she thought about everyone else, "Jackson? Mamaw? Uncle Earl?"

She could tell he was being patient with her. It made her think he was telling the truth. Had they really been duped for years into believing the Emergence's harebrained end of world story? It had seemed so real. But if she really was dead and in heaven, then why was she in a hospital? Why was her chest on fire and her hand freezing cold and her throat so dry? Miley felt incredibly stupid. Tears leaked from her eyes and suddenly her dad's hand was on her face and Miley flinched away. He wasn't Lilly; but Miley hadn't wanted to put that look on his face. He was still being patient with her.

A sudden thought came to her and she panicked. If she was alive and Lilly was not here, then was Lilly dead? And if she was, how would Miley be able to live without her best friend at her side? The pain clutching her heart at the thought left her breathless. She had to go find out where Lilly was.

"Where's Lilly?" When her dad didn't immediately answer her, Miley pushed herself into a sitting position. Her chest screamed in agony; she tried to push the pain away. All she could think about was Lilly. She tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed. She suddenly felt dizzy.

"Whoa, Miles, what in the Sam heck are you doing?" Robbie Ray moved quickly to stop her from getting out of bed. She struggled feebly against him, but was too weak to really fight back. She was crying now and the sight broke his heart.

"Lilly, I want Lilly," she cried, knowing she'd never feel whole again if her friend was gone.

Robbie Ray held her down as gently as he could; he was afraid she'd already hurt herself more. He leaned closer to get her to look at him, but remembering how she had flinched away from his touch, he stopped himself. "Bud, Lilly is fine. She's fine. Her mother took her to the cafeteria, because she'd been sitting here next to you for so long."

Miley closed her eyes and tried to relax. Lilly was okay. They had made it out, like Lilly always said they would. Of course, Lilly had been lying then. Would her dad lie to her about Lilly being okay? Miley knew it was a possibility. She knew she would not be okay until Lilly was next to her.

Robbie watched his daughter, heartbroken. He had seen the look in her eyes, not just the panic, but the worn and tired look of someone much older. The FBI hadn't told them much; they'd gotten a knock on the door in the middle of the morning and been told their daughters were alive. He'd thought he was being Punk'd at first, but the agents had them on a plane to Montana within the hour. He'd agonized the entire plane ride and the hour drive to the hospital. Miley was alive; he hadn't wanted to believe it until he could see for himself. Heather had clung to him in Malibu and hadn't let go the entire time. She knew exactly what he was feeling.

He still thought it a miracle he hadn't fainted dead upon seeing Miley for the first time in five years. She was so broken. The doctor hadn't told him everything, he knew, only about the gunshot wound to the chest and the tube they'd had to put in to drain the blood. They had told him she would be fine and that was all he had cared about. But he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her. What had put that look in her eyes.

Robbie sat in the chair next to her bed, wanting to take hold of her hand again, but he remembered how she'd pulled away before. He just wanted to make sure she really was there. He thought about her words just now, her panicking and remembered how similar Lilly's words had been when the doctors were done with her. She'd sat in that very chair and would hardly let anyone get close to Miley. The doctors had told them she might be irritable and confused because of her concussion, but Robbie wasn't so sure now. He just wanted his little girl to be okay again.

* * *

The noise was nearly unbearable. Like a persistent buzzing in her brain, adding to the throbbing and pounding already part of her head. She didn't want to be here. What if Miley woke up and she wasn't there? Miley didn't know yet what was going on, something Lilly herself had a hard time wrapping her head around.

Her mother was alive and sitting across from her. The world had not ended. They'd thought they'd been so smart, evading the brainwashing and indoctrination and crazy beliefs of the Emergence, but, in the end, they'd fallen for it anyway. Just two simple fools, kept at that compound by fear and uncertainty. Maybe they could have run away, after all. They hadn't even tried. And seeing her mother's look upon having her back, she felt guilty about not having tried.

"Honey, you're not eating your burger," Heather said softly. She didn't want to make Lilly's obvious headache worse, or startle her. After just two hours with her daughter she could tell Lilly was incredibly tense. Perhaps at first she'd brushed it off as an effect of the concussion and pain medication, but no longer.

They sat in a far corner booth of the hospital cafeteria, as far removed from the regular bustle as possible. Every time someone passed too close to the table, Lilly's head jerked around, hand reaching for something invisible next to her. And every time she did, she groaned at the pain in her head. Maybe it had been a bad idea to bring her here, Heather surmised, but she couldn't stand just watching Lilly staring at Miley, willing her awake. Neither girl had looked particularly healthy, though in all reality she had envisioned much worse.

Lilly looked down at her plate, stomach turning. She'd felt nauseas to begin with and shoving huge amounts of food her body was no longer used to down her throat was not going to help. She fingered the edge of the dressing taped over the stitches on her forehead. She did not remember what had happened, only vaguely remembered gunshots and explosions and fighting. The doctors had told her a bullet had grazed her head, cracked her skull and given her a concussion. They told her she was going to be fine. She looked at her left arm, which was in a sling. She did not remember breaking her shoulder, either. All she remembered was waking up in a hospital, without Miley. Everything she had believed for the past three years had come down around her. The only thing she still had to hold onto was her friend, the one true thing in her life.

"I'm not all that hungry, mom," she mumbled, feeling bad for not acting like she should after finding out her mother was alive.

It wasn't that she was not happy. The doctors in the ER had tried to explain some of it to her, but she had been confused and disoriented mostly. When she had finally seen her mother, she hadn't known what to believe. Part of the emptiness inside of her had filled and she'd let her mother hug her tentatively and she had felt happy about it. But the biggest part of her had needed to see Miley. She had nearly thrown a fit in the ER until they had let her see the brunette.

"You need to eat something, Lilly, you're so skinny." Heather hadn't meant to bring up any part of her daughter's physical condition, but it had slipped out. Seeing her daughter again for the first time, with broken bones, a gunshot wound and covered in blood had nearly been too much for her. She had leaned on Robbie then, before they had gone to see Miley. Her stepdaughter was not much better off, she knew, and Heather wondered again what had happened to the girls in the past five years. She did not really want to ask.

Lilly managed a smirk at her mother's words. Perhaps they hadn't had the best nutrition over the past five years, but Lilly knew she could probably pick up her mom and carry her around. Neither her mom nor Robbie Ray had asked about what had happened to them, and Lilly was glad. She did not think she ever wanted to talk about it.

"Maybe…I can eat it later," she tried, hoping her mother would be appeased and let her return to Miley. She was trying to be as nice as possible and keep her aggravation at bay.

"Lilly…" Heather trailed off when she met her daughter's eyes. They were almost cold and she didn't know what to make of it. Though Lilly had spoken with her some, she had been very reticent and even inattentive at times. She knew Lilly had been happy to see her, they had cried together even, but she almost felt like her daughter was closed off from her.

"No, mom, Miley needs me and I'm going back upstairs," Lilly said, not having the energy to pretend anymore. She was frustrated. How did one merge their strange existence from just 24 hours ago with the normal life they'd left behind?

Heather reached across the table and covered Lilly's hand with hers. She just wanted her daughter to relax and stop worrying. Whatever it was they'd had to worry about back there, the girls were safe here. "Lilly, she'll be fine and her dad is with her. Why don't we give them some space and you and I can have some more mother-daughter time."

Lilly resisted the sudden urge to lash out at her mother. She didn't know where it had come from, but thankfully it only lasted a split second. She had spent the past five years solving problems with her fists if people refused to listen to her and she figured it was a habit she'd have to break. She knew her mother was trying to be there for her and comfort her and reassure her that the nightmare was over. But Lilly knew, for her and Miley, it would never be completely over.

She slowly pulled her hand away and turned to get up. Too late did she realize she was reaching for her rifle and grasped at empty air, before sliding out of the booth, angry tears welling in her eyes. They did not understand and they never would. She stood, facing her mother.

"Mom, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I am going upstairs to be with Miley. You can come if you want to."

Lilly walked away from the booth and Heather stared after her. What had happened to her little girl?

* * *

Lilly walked briskly along the corridor, arm brushing the wall. She did not like the crowds, the people rushing past her. At the compound there had been a lot of people, but she had known each of them, had seen them day in and day out for five years. She had known what to expect. Here every shadow, every noise, made her tense up.

Her mother was walking behind her somewhere, watching her. Lilly knew her mother was worried and had gone through a lot and had missed her terribly and loved her, but Lilly did not feel like she could relate. Of course she loved her mother and had wished for her numerous times over the years, but she could do nothing with her mother's feelings. She could not provide the happy, bubbly daughter that was lost and she could not control the angry, taciturn person she had become.

A door opened up ahead and a man stepped out, directly into her path. Lilly moved to walk around him. She looked at his face and moved several steps back in shock. She balled up her right fist, sizing him up. His right arm was in a sling; she figured she could still take him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said and he turned to face her. Heather stopped next to her daughter, wondering what she had missed. A guy of medium height with scraggly, dark hair, dressed in military fatigues, stood before them.

Malcolm raised his good hand, backing up a step. He had no desire to have the blonde punch him again, "Whoa, Lilly, it's alright. I'm with the FBI."

Lilly took a step closer, then stared at him, "You…Wait, you're what?"

"I was undercover at the compound. I was supposed to find the Emergence illegally stocking weapons and instead I found you two."

Lilly narrowed her eyes. Was he telling the truth? Two more men wearing suits exited the room behind him, one patting him on the shoulder. They certainly looked like FBI. "So, the attack…that was the FBI?"

Malcolm nodded and Lilly bit her lower lip. "I guess you're the reason we got out then, Collins."

"My name's Malcolm. I'm just glad I got you both out…when I saw Boomer…well…we both got out of there with scrapes, huh?" Malcolm said with a smirk, motioning at his arm.

"So, Boomer?"

"Dead."

Lilly nodded, not sure how she felt about it. Part of her had wanted it to be her to pull the trigger on their number one torturer. Heather tried to hide the shock on her face at her daughter's callous reaction to hearing about a man's death.

"Well, uh, thanks, Malcolm. And I'm sorry about…you know," Lilly said, shrugging with one shoulder.

Malcolm grinned and nodded, "No hard feelings. I'm sorry for starting it. Good luck, Lilly, to you and Miley."

They nodded at each other before turning and walking in different directions. Heather caught up with her daughter, looking at her funnily.

"What did I miss?" she asked, confused about the exchange between the two.

"Oh, I punched him in the face," Lilly said casually.

Heather thought she was joking for a moment, but then realized her daughter was completely serious. She wanted to ask why or how or what had happened, but knew having her questions answered would likely be worse than never knowing. So she remained quiet and followed Lilly back to Miley's hospital room.

* * *

Miley was breathing steadily, in and out, despite the stabbing pain it caused in her chest. It was all she could do to keep calm. She didn't know how long she had been awake now, but it had been far too long a time for there to be no Lilly. She was starting to think her dad had lied to her, after all. Inhale. Exhale. The panic was creeping its way in. Miley thought her dad could tell; he had tried to tell her stories of back home, of Jackson, of Uncle Earl, probably to distract her. Miley did not care to listen to them now; they meant nothing to her and the realization unsettled her. Life had gone on without them and now it was not the same. They were not the same.

Her dad was standing by the window, talking quietly on his cellphone. Miley liked it better that way; she could not take him sitting by her bed, staring at her with that sorrowful look on his face. He was talking to Jackson now; Miley had already turned down phone calls from two other family members. She did not have the energy to pretend, especially not without Lilly there.

She was incredibly tired. A nurse had come in a short while ago and put something in her IV. She'd been all sweet and smiling, telling Miley she needed to rest. She was still fighting it. Her dad kept glancing at her, the look in his eyes telling her to go to sleep already. They just didn't understand.

The door opened and Miley looked up. Lilly walked in and Miley closed her eyes. She finally felt whole again. She could finally relax. The fatigue swept over her and she reached out a hand. When Lilly's hand slipped into hers, everything was right again. A weight pushed down on the bed next to her and she blinked her eyes open.

Lilly had walked into the room and gone straight for Miley. It wasn't like in the movies, where people yell and fall into each other's arms with much exuberance. She didn't even acknowledge her mother or Robbie Ray, just walked straight up to the bed and took Miley's outstretched hand in hers. Then she kicked off the hospital slippers and climbed up onto the bed next to her friend.

"Lilly, what are you doing?" Heather exclaimed, rushing closer. Robbie Ray walked up next to her and they exchanged looks. They'd already had to stop Lilly once from climbing into bed with Miley.

Lilly did not answer. Instead she was looking down at the face of her friend, a soft smile on her lips. She wedged herself onto the small bit of space between Miley's side and the bed's railing. Miley reached out a hand to Lilly's face, frowning as she touched the dressing on her forehead.

"Lilly."

"I'm fine, Miles. It's just a little crack. You always said I was hard-headed," Lilly joked, suddenly feeling free. She had Miley and they were out of that hell. She stared at the monitors surrounding the bed and looked back down at her friend. Reaching out, Lilly brushed some stray hairs behind Miley's ear, tucking it behind the plastic tube than ran from the brunette's nostrils to behind her ears. "You doing okay?"

Miley nodded, feeling a thousand times better just with Lilly pressed against her side. She was so sleepy now and her eyelids drooped. Lilly's hand brushed across her hair and Miley felt content. She wrapped her fingers around the hospital scrub top the blonde was wearing and held on, her way of ensuring Lilly was there.

"Just go to sleep, Miles," Lilly said softly, hand still running through the brunette hair. Miley's eyes closed and Lilly smiled. She leaned down and kissed Miley softly, before lying down on her side next to her friend, hand still playing with her hair. She had forgotten anyone else was even in the room.

Heather and Robbie watched the scene, feeling like intruders. Robbie had spent nearly an hour trying to calm Miley's anxiety and get her to sleep without luck and two minutes with Lilly and his daughter was calm and asleep. And to Heather, seeing her previously cold and distant daughter so tender and loving, it was incomprehensible. Then they saw the kiss.

They stared at each other, the looks on their faces conveying every range of emotion from shock, to anger, to fear. Neither spoke, perhaps feeling that a hospital room was not the place for questions. They did not know what to think, how to interact or talk to their own children. They did not know what happened to their daughters, but both knew it could not have been good. Robbie Ray and Heather sat heavily in the chairs against the wall and held hands while the girls slept. Nothing was ever going to be the same again.

_In the arms of the angel/ Fly away from here/ From this dark cold hotel room/ And the endlessness that you fear/ You are pulled from the wreckage/ Of your silent reverie/ You're in the arms of the angel/ May you find some comfort here/ -_ Sarah McLachlan


	12. Zero Sum

Thank you everyone who gave me such an overwhelming response to the last chapter. You guys are truly awesome and pretty much the main reason I'm even writing. I'm sure to reward you I should've posted sooner, but I'm a lazy slacker. This story still has a bit of life left in it and I hope everyone will continue reading and not get bored. If you get bored let me know and I'll make something explode...or something like it ;) Enjoy...

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**Chapter 12 – Zero Sum  
**

_Come gather 'round people/ Wherever you roam/ And admit that the waters/ Around you have grown/ And accept it that soon/ You'll be drenched to the bone/ If your time to you/ Is worth savin'/  
Then you better start swimming/' Or you'll sink like a stone/ For the times they are a-changin'/_

"Six days after the storm on the cultist compound 'Breakers East' the country is still reeling from the news. The FBI has tried to cover up what really went on, but more and more information is trickling through. We feel that the American people have a right to know what their government is up to."

"But surely you don't expect them to release classified information, while an investigation is still ongoing."

"Please Bob, as of last count, over three hundred people are dead. That is inexcusable! The FBI clearly had no idea what they were doing there. Thank God those children survived. This is a travesty and the people have a right to demand answers."

"Thirteen FBI agents gave their lives, as well, don't forget about that. And, well, they did save Hannah Montana; and her friend. After five years of captivity. Don't you think that's quite an amazing story?"

"Oh please, we have yet to have any proof that story is even true. We've gotten nothing other than a few grainy shots of a brunette girl being loaded into a helicopter. If you want my opinion, the FBI made that whole story up to distract people from their biggest screw up ever. I'll believe it when I see Hannah Montana giving…"

Lilly switched off the TV and chanced a look at her friend. Miley was curled up on her side on the sofa, wrapped in a thick blanket, eyes half closed. Lilly knew she'd been listening though and she didn't like it. There wasn't anyone on the news that did not talk about the whole Breakers East debacle and the supposed rescue of Hannah Montana. Lilly had seen some of it at the hospital and at the hotel since, but she'd tried to keep Miley from it. It was just too much. The Hannah thing, the frenzy, the accusations, the fact that people they'd lived with for the past five years were pretty much all dead.

The blonde sat on the edge of the cushion facing her friend, and wrapped her right arm around Miley's waist. Her left was still in a sling and would be for some time, something that annoyed her to no end. Miley had gotten discharged from the hospital yesterday and now they were stuck in this hotel room. The doctors wouldn't clear Miley to fly for another few days due to her collapsed lung and because of the whole media hype it would be a bad idea for them to go outside.

Not that Lilly really wanted to. Everything was just so different. There were so many people and they were loud and rude and obnoxious. She didn't like cars, either; riding in them or just walking past. The TV only held her attention for a few minutes at a time. She felt awkward and out of place and their parents weren't making things any easier. Sure, they were nice and acquiescent and almost tip-toed around them as if a wrong word or sound would set them off. Perhaps it would.

Lilly could tell they were hiding something; she'd seen the looks they gave each other. Whatever it was, she did not waste much time thinking about. She thought about Miley. That was the way things had been the past five years, why would they change now? Though she'd started getting the feeling that their parents were somehow uncomfortable around them together. There had been looks and some near words.

"Lilly, Miles, Agents Cramer and Harris are here." Lilly turned at Robbie Ray's voice. She'd mostly gotten used to him being there and didn't flinch so much at his presence anymore. He didn't get close to them though and Lilly figured he was afraid Miley would shun him again. He didn't understand that it wasn't on purpose.

He looked at them on the sofa, so close, and he hated the part of himself that was jealous over the fact that Lilly could get close to his daughter and he couldn't. Miley had always been close to him and the fact that now she turned to Lilly did not sit well with him. He loved her, he wanted her to be alright, but he hoped this was all just because everything was still so new to the girls.

Agent Cramer sat in one of the armchairs across from the sofa; his colleague did the same. He pulled out a voice recorder and set it on the coffee table, then picked up his notepad. They'd been tasked with getting a complete account of the girls' story and considering it was five years long it was taking some time. The FBI was trying to handle this as gently as possible, thus sending agents to the hotel suite the girls were staying at and keeping the sessions to an hour or two at most.

Lilly stared at them icily from her seat on the sofa and Miley made no move to get up. He'd been a little put off by their attitudes at first, but had realized it was really not directed at anyone in particular. They were protecting themselves. He glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Stewart, who was watching them.

Cramer cleared his throat, "Thank you, Mr. Stewart, for showing us in. We're going to get started now."

He was dismissing the man, who did not look too pleased. But Cramer had realized after their first few sessions that the girls did not want their parents around while talking about what had happened. And, being a father himself, he knew he was being kind sparing Mr. Stewart from hearing what had happened to his daughter. When the man left the suite at last, he turned back to the girls.

"Is it true? Everyone died?" Lilly asked and Cramer stared at her. They hadn't asked many questions before.

He thought about sparing them the facts, and then realized how ridiculous that was. They'd been abused and broken; there were few things they could still be spared from. He glanced at Harris, who shrugged. Maybe they did deserve some of the truth.

"Not everyone, but yes, a lot of people died. Some **were** killed by the FBI, but the majority committed suicide when we breached the compound, on orders of the Divine Leader. We managed to get to the bunker before his henchman could execute the women and children there."

"What happened to the Divine Loser?"

Cramer suppressed a smirk at her nickname for Adama. "He's in our custody. He's never going to be a free man again."

Lilly nodded, though there was little emotion on her face. "What about Adrian?"

He shook his head sadly, "He's still at large. We've got every field office in the nation on alert, as well as alerts out to all the international airports and border crossing stations."

Lilly and Miley and given them all the information they still remembered about their kidnappers, names, descriptions, accents, weird habits. Sketch artists had composed drawings of the kidnappers' faces. The FBI was doing everything they could to find the guys who had done this to the girls, but one thing the agents did not tell them. The whole task force knew they had a leak, someone who had been tipping off Adama's middleman and alerted the Disciples of their plans. They feared that with the traitor in their midst, any work they were doing on this case was quite possibly compromised.

"There was a guy at the compound…Dave…he was the medic…do you know if he's…"

Cramer looked at the blonde; this was the most she'd talked without prompts since he met her. "We've had a hard time identifying the bodies; most of those people had been missing for so long it's hard to get information on them. But we did find a body outside the infirmary, with his name stenciled in his clothing. I'm sorry."

Lilly just nodded again. Dave had been good to her, had saved Miley's life more than once in fact and she was sad to know he had died in the madness. It was perhaps the first real emotion she'd had for someone other than Miley in recent memory and it shocked her.

Cramer took her silence as a cue to begin the interview, "Last time we stopped, you were explaining the rules of The Emergence to us. Could you elaborate on that?"

Lilly sighed and slid down the sofa. Miley moved onto her back and put her legs on Lilly's lap so they both had space. There was no way they could get through talking about this without being that close to each other. Lilly grabbed Miley's hand with her good one and began talking.

* * *

"You can't be serious."

"Totally. They were very practical," Lilly grinned at the girl in her arms. They were sitting with their backs against the headboard of one of the double beds in their room. Only one small lamp was on, bathing the room in a warm glow. Lilly had her right arm wrapped around Miley's shoulders, while the brunette girl's legs were intertwined with her friend's. This was how they had found comfort for so long they saw no reason to change now.

"Yes, but…they're hideous. And not at all flattering," Miley said, a slight look of distaste on her face. She felt okay when it was just the two of them; no demands, no awkward looks or sad faces. No accusatory glances when they were too close together.

Lilly laughed, "Miles, you could wear a potato sack and still be the most beautiful girl alive. And I thought those BDUs made you look kinda hot."

Miley smiled and rested her head against Lilly's, "Okay, certain appeal aside, I'm still not letting you wear those now…not anymore."

A knock on the door interrupted them and they looked up as their parents entered. Neither girl moved from her current position. Robbie looked at the girls, practically cuddled up on the bed and looked away, uncomfortable. He did not know why it bothered him to see it. Perhaps it was the fact he himself could no longer cure the fear and vulnerability in his daughter's eyes. Perhaps he didn't like the way Lilly sized him up every time he got too close to his little girl, as if he were some threat. Perhaps he just wanted things to be the way they were before.

"We wanted to talk to you girls," Heather interrupted his thoughts. She tentatively sat on the edge of the bed, curling one leg up under her as she looked at the girls. They didn't draw back from her presence at least and Robbie walked up behind his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, we've been meaning to tell ya, but with Miley in the hospital and all…well, we just didn't think it was a good time, " Robbie Ray continued.

The girls just stared at their parents. They'd gotten used to the blunt craziness of the Disciples over the years and someone spending so much time beating around the bush was frustrating. Lilly removed her arm from around Miley's shoulders and intertwined her fingers with her friend's. She'd had her suspicions about whatever they were keeping from them for a few days now.

Heather cleared her throat and looked up at her husband then back at the girls, "Robbie and I…we're married."

There was no immediate response and the adults suddenly felt somewhat nervous. Robbie ran a hand through his long hair. "We've been married for two years. You're sisters now."

"You're married?" Lilly said, shock evident in her voice. They held up their hands, showing off weddings bands and Lilly didn't know what to say. She hadn't been expecting **that**. Suddenly Miley was up and off the bed, leaving the room. Lilly immediately went to go after her, but Robbie Ray held up his hand to stop her.

"Lilly, please, let me this once? I won't do anything foolish," he couldn't believe he was asking permission to talk to his own daughter, but he knew from the look in the blonde's eyes it'd been the right thing to do. She nodded and sat back down, though her eyes were on the doorway.

Robbie walked out into the living room of the suite, where Miley was sitting on the sofa, legs drawn up to her chest. She couldn't have been very comfortable, not with her recent injuries, but he decided not to say anything. Instead he sat on the arm of the sofa, a safe distance away and looked at her.

"Are you okay, bud?"

When she didn't say anything, he sighed and continued, "I know it's a bit of a shock, but Heather and I, we really care for each other. Back when…when you guys were taken and…well, we got together a lot more and…I think it was just nice to have someone else who understood how it really felt. Over time, it just grew into something more and we thought...well, there was no reason not to…we had already lost so much, or thought we had. Sweetheart, we are so happy to have you both back. Now we can be a family, like you and Lilly planned all those years ago, remember?"

Miley looked at her dad and suppressed a sigh. In a way, she knew exactly how he felt. She couldn't really begrudge him happiness, even though she hated how everyone in her life had moved on and they'd just been thrust back into the middle of it. She felt disjointed and awkward, unsure what to do or say or how to act. But she knew she couldn't be the one to erase the happy look from her dad's face. He'd looked happy when he'd announced he was married to Heather and he was still trying to be there for her. He'd even respected her boundaries.

She looked up at him and reached out a hand to cover his. Robbie Ray looked at her, stunned for a moment, before taking her small hand into both of his. It was the first time she'd initiated contact with him since her return and he felt a little piece fall back into place.

"I'm happy for you, daddy," Miley said softly and managed a smile. He brought her palm to his lips and kissed it. Tears were in his eyes and she stood. She didn't get within an arm's length of him as she walked back towards the bedroom, but he felt happy she'd reached out to him at all.

Miley walked back into the bedroom, standing several feet away from where Heather sat with her arm around her own daughter. Robbie followed, but remained in the doorway. The two blondes looked up, Lilly curious and Heather somewhat apprehensive. She knew how much Robbie wanted Miley to be okay, with the marriage and overall, and she didn't know if that was possible. Though Lilly had been more than reluctant to let her mother get close, Miley was the one who seemed to shy away from any and all physical contact. Other than Lilly's, of course. Heather knew how much Robbie had been hurt by it and she hoped Miley would accept their relationship, at least. They could work from there.

"I'm happy for you, too, Heather. I can tell you make my daddy happy; that's all I care about," Miley said, playing with her hands nervously.

Heather looked at her, surprised. That was the most Miley had spoken to her since she'd woken up in the hospital. Granted, she was standing several feet away, looking incredible nervous, but it was a start. She smiled, giving Lilly a slight squeeze. "Thank you, Miley. I just want us all to be a family."

"Yeah," Miley breathed, still fiddling with her hands. She didn't know how long she could stand there, with everyone looking at her, trying not to freak out. She knew she was safe in the hotel suite, knew her daddy would protect her and not rush her, she knew Heather wouldn't hurt her, but her nerves were still frazzled. She just couldn't deal with people anymore, not so well anyway.

Before she knew it, Lilly had gotten up and wrapped her good arm around Miley. The brunette rested her head on her friend's shoulder, wrapping her own arms around Lilly's waist. She was okay now, even when Heather stood up and got within an arm's length of them. She knew Lilly would protect her.

Robbie wrapped an arm around his wife as they watched their daughters. The reveal had gone better than expected. He just wished everything else would go this smoothly.

_The line it is drawn/ The curse it is cast/ The slow one now/ Will later be fast/ As the present now/ Will later be past/ The order is/ Rapidly fadin'/ And the first one now/ Will later be last/ For the times they are a-changin/ _-Bob Dylan


	13. The Long Way Home

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I thought I'd make you all happy and post before I have to leave. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this whole thing, it's getting to be quite the long story. And it's not over yet! I do have some bad news, however...no no, don't worry, it **will** be finished. I am moving next week, however and most likely won't have Internet access, and after I'm going to Europe for 3 weeks, so I might not be as good with the posting as I have been. I'll try not to leave you all hanging for too long, though, I promise!

* * *

**Chapter 13 – The Long Way Home**

_Never mind me 'cause I've been dead/ Out of my body, been out of my head/ Never mind the songs they hum/ Don't wanna sing along with nothin' that I said/ Never mind the words that came/  
Out of my mouth when all I could feel was pain/ The difference in the two of us/ Comes down to the way you rise over things I just put down/_

Jackson sat on the sofa, then stood up again, turning in a circle and sat once more. There really was nothing left to do. He'd cleaned the house, top to bottom, emptied the garbage, rearranged all the movies alphabetically; hell, he'd even cleaned his closet. He looked at the clock, probably for the hundredth time in the past hour. It couldn't be long now.

He was incredibly nervous. Miley was alive and she was coming home at last. He'd flown from Tennessee to Malibu to get the house ready, though he wished he could've just gone straight to Montana to see his little sister. His dad had thought it better this way, mentioning the hoopla with the press and the FBI, and Miley's hospital stay, not to mention that she needed time to adjust. Jackson didn't quite understand what there was to adjust to, other than their father's marriage perhaps. Wasn't being back home with family a million times better than wherever she had been?

His father hadn't mentioned all that much about Miley. He'd called him out of the blue one night, crying, saying that he was standing in a hospital room in Montana, looking down at his sister, who was very much alive. Jackson hadn't believed him until he'd spoken to Miley on the phone several days later. It had been a conversation of less than a minute, but to Jackson it had been the best phone call of his life. He couldn't wait to see his sister again.

The front door opened and Jackson jumped to his feet. His father was the first through the door, the smile on his face one Jackson hadn't seen in years. Robbie Ray hugged his son then moved out of the way to set down his bags. Miley stepped into the house and Jackson felt the huge weight lift off his chest; he'd really needed to see her to believe it. She was a little bit taller now, a little skinnier and a little older, but otherwise she looked the same. She seemed nervous, eyes darting around the room and there was no smile on her face like he was used to, but he figured it was just the shock of it all.

"Miley," he said, almost like a sigh, and she looked at him. Her eyes were sadder than he remembered. Jackson stepped forward to hug her.

Before he could register what was happening, something solid connected with his face and his jaw exploded with pain. Jackson stumbled backwards, holding a hand to his aching jaw and stared at his sister. Their dad rushed over between them and Miley flinched. She stared at her brother, the shock and hurt on his face, and clenched her fist. Why did she do that? Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jackson," she said, voice barely audible. Everybody was staring at her now, Heather who had come into the house behind her, her dad, disappointed, Jackson, still hurt. She wanted to run away. Lilly grabbed her arm, pulling Miley against her own body. Miley relaxed slightly.

"It's alright, Miles," Robbie Ray tried to calm down the situation. Miley had punched her brother, who looked utterly lost and hurt and then Robbie himself had gotten too close to her and she'd flinched; now he was reeling, too. What had happened to their lives? "Jackson just didn't know. It's okay."

Jackson glanced at his dad, hands up in the universal gesture of 'I mean no harm', talking to his sister like she was a wild animal. He looked back at Miley, tears in her eyes, the fear and panic plainly evident on her face. He'd never been the most perceptive person, but Jackson could tell she hadn't done it on purpose. He could see she was not okay.

"Yeah, Miles, no big deal. I'm sure I deserved it for something I did you never found out about," Jackson said, trying to interject humor into a strained situation. He looked from his sister to Lilly standing right behind her. Though she too looked mostly the same, he had a feeling she could probably beat the crap out of him now. And her protective stance next to Miley told him she would if he wasn't careful.

Robbie Ray came up to stand next to Jackson, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Girls, if you wanna go upstairs, get some rest, we'll call you down when dinner is ready. Miley, we didn't change your room at all."

Miley furrowed her brows, not sure how she felt about that. That was the old Miley's room, with the huge Hannah closet and tons of shoes and clothes. She felt Lilly nudge her slightly and moved forward.

"Lilly, we had Jackson set up the guest room for you. It's nothing special now, but you can decorate however you want, okay?" Heather said from the side, smiling.

Lilly turned to her mother, confusion written on her face, "Guest room?"

Heather's smile fell, slightly and she gestured at the house, "Yeah…we live here now, Lilly. I sold our house after Robbie and I got married. I thought we talked about this, sweetheart?"

Lilly suppressed the urge to roll her eyes; now her mother thought she was stupid. Then again, she had had some amnesia after the concussion, though really only about the storm on the compound. "We did, mom. I still don't understand, though. I'm gonna stay in Miley's room."

Heather blinked her eyes in shock then turned to face her husband, who simply shrugged. They'd talked about the girls and had hoped that returning home things would just fall back into place. That maybe they wouldn't need each other quite so much.

"Honey, there's no need, we have plenty of space. You two don't wanna be crammed into one tiny bedroom together; I don't even think we could fit the other bed into Miley's room."

Lilly squeezed Miley's arm and the brunette reached over, tugging on the blonde's shirt to calm her down. She could tell Lilly's patience was about to run out. Lilly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking back at her mother when she exhaled. "Mom, we lived in a tiny shack half the size of Miley's bedroom for five years; and there was just one bed. I think we'll be okay."

It was the first time either of the girls had mentioned anything about their lives at the compound and it temporarily quieted the two parents. Lilly, trying not to say anything too rude or obnoxious, grabbed Miley's hand and dragged her towards the stairway. Jackson and Robbie Ray moved out of their way. The girls went up the stairs and Heather walked over to her husband, somewhat shaken.

"Robbie," she said, her voice sounding anything but happy.

He wrapped an arm around her and sighed, "I know. Let's just give them some time to adjust. It'll all be alright in the end, you'll see."

Nevertheless, the three of them left standing in the living room knew they had a long road ahead of them.

* * *

They stood, hand-in-hand, just inside of Miley's old bedroom. The same sheets were still on the bed, the same picture frame on her nightstand, the same array of makeup strewn across her dresser. It was as if time had never moved on here. They both took a deep breath in. It smelled the same, perhaps a bit staler, but the same nonetheless. Miley chanced a glance to her left, the bright doors to the Hannah closet almost taunting her. She looked away.

"I thought your dad said he hadn't changed this place," Lilly said from her side and Miley looked at her in confusion. "I remember it being a lot messier."

Miley rolled her eyes and elbowed her friend in the side. She moved towards her bed and tentatively sat on the edge. Familiarity came rushing back at her. She reached for the picture of her mother sitting on her nightstand, feeling the old, familiar pain prick at her heart. Looking back, she noticed Lilly was gone.

"Lilly?"

"Miley, come here."

Lilly's voice sounded somewhat distant and the brunette stood, but stopped when she saw the doors to the Hannah closet open. She clenched her fists at her sides. She could see Lilly inside, standing amidst the fancy clothes and the flashy jewelry and the expensive shoes. It was like watching another part of her life through a hazy lens, a part she'd thought she'd left far behind. She didn't want any part of it.

Lilly looked up at her, "Miley."

She couldn't deny her anything, not when she used that tone, not with that look in her blue eyes. Her feet moved of their own volition. When she finally stood inside the closet, Miley wrapped her arms around herself, like a shield against the past. It wasn't working. Every item she looked at, she could remember every concert or interview she had worn it to.

Lilly walked up to stand directly in front of her and when Miley saw what she held in her hands, her eyes widened in panic. She shook her head vigorously, arms dropping to her sides.

"No, no way."

"Miley, I think you have to."

The brunette scoffed. "I don't have to do anything. I want to burn this whole room to the ground."

"Miles, if you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me."

Miley clenched her jaw, "That's not fair, Lilly."

Lilly shook her head, knowing that Miley couldn't say no to her, but these were dire times. They'd never be okay again if they didn't deal with their past. Miley closed her eyes as she reached up to gather her long, brunette hair together at the back of her head. Lilly slipped the Hannah wig on top of Miley's head, smoothing out the strands with her fingers.

Lilly took a step back and looked at her friend. Miley opened her eyes. The wig felt like a ten-ton weight on her head, on her shoulders. Tears leaked out from her eyes, running down her cheeks. Lilly closed the distance between them again, brushing her thumb across Miley's tear-stained cheek and ran her fingers through the blonde strands.

"Miley, Hannah is a part of you, don't push that away."

"Yeah, the part that got us kidnapped and tortured and locked away! No thanks."

"That wasn't Hannah's fault, or yours, Miley. You didn't ask for that to happen to you, to us."

"Lilly, don't you get it? If there had been no Hannah, there would have been no kidnapping. If **Miley** hadn't wanted to be a superstar so badly, we would still be okay!"

Lilly splayed her fingers against Miley's neck, brushing her thumb across her friend's jawline, "Miles, you don't know what would have happened if there was no Hannah. You. Don't. Know. Hannah didn't do this to us and neither did you. We still have each other, and our families, and we'll be okay again. We're gonna be okay, Mile."

She pulled Miley closer, fingers still on the back of her neck, and brushed her lips against her friend's. They stayed like that for several seconds, lips pressed together, until Miley pushed back against her, snaking her tongue in Lilly's mouth. Lilly pulled Miley tighter against her body, wanting to feel all of her. Her head was spinning. How could one simple kiss leave her so dizzy, so disoriented, floating so high, yet so heavy?

Someone called them from downstairs and they pulled away, both out of breath. Their eyes remained locked for several more seconds, the intensity of their feelings shining through. Miley reached up and pulled the wig off her head, letting her brown curls fall down her back. Lilly let her hand slide down Miley's arm to grasp her hand and turned to walk back out into the bedroom. She stopped abruptly.

"Oh my god!"

Miley stared at her, worried for a moment. "What?"

Lilly looked back at her friend, a wide-eyed expression on her face, "I just made out with Hannah Montana!"

Miley gaped at her then smacked the back of her head with her free hand. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Believe it," Lilly said and winked at her. Miley just rolled her eyes as the blonde dragged her back into the bedroom. She threw one last glance at the Hannah closet. Maybe Lilly was right. Maybe they were going to be okay.

* * *

Adrian pushed his sunglasses deeper against his face and pulled his baseball cap further down. He didn't know if he looked more suspicious now, but he had seen a police sketch of himself posted at a bus station in the last town. Who looked at a police sketch at a bus station? Well, he had, but of course he was unlikely to turn himself in to the FBI, even with the $100,000 reward. He'd honestly thought kidnapping Hannah Montana would have landed him a higher amount.

He rested his head against the dirty bus window, hoping no one would bother him if they thought he was sleeping. Then again, there were only creeps and misfits on this bus. He wasn't sure which group he fit into.

It had all been going so well. Jordan had kept him busy with regular work, well-paying work, and Adrian in turn had tipped him off to the goings on at the FBI task force meant to bring him down. How had it all gone so wrong? He'd even warned Jordan of the warrant the FBI had been planning to serve that day. Now all those damn nutjobs were dead and Jordan was locked up at some high-security federal prison. Leavenworth maybe - that would serve that smug bastard right.

In all honesty, Adrian hoped Jordan would never see the light of day again. It was better for his health, Adrian's, that is. His informant hadn't been able to give him much, but Adrian knew there had been an inside man. He wasn't sure if Jordan had figured it out, yet, that Adrian had brought the spy into his midst. Carbon Collins, that snitch bastard. Collins had cracked under pressure and given them up and the FBI had sent one of their own instead.

How could he have been so stupid? Why hadn't he killed Hannah and her sidekick five years ago? He'd already shot her once, mostly unintentionally, but still. She'd been **dying** when he took them to Jordan. He'd put that gun against her head and she'd stared at him, all blue-eyed, crying. He'd moved on to her friend then, but her eyes were just the same and he just hadn't been able to pull the trigger. He'd tried five times and fives times he'd chickened out. He'd killed his 'friends' without a second thought.

Now, because of his cowardice five years ago, he was in deep shit. The girls were out and they were alive. They knew his name; they knew what he looked like. And now the FBI was looking for him. Not like last time; last time they'd looked for **someone**, they'd had no specifics. This time was different. He had no intentions of going down like Jordan. Or getting an FBI bullet to the head like Boomer. Or blowing his own brains out like the nutjob Disciples.

Adrian knew what was at stake. He could not allow himself the same cowardice he'd exhibited five years ago. Only two people could truly and positively identify him as Hannah Montana's kidnapper. Two people he should have killed a long time ago. His time for mercy was over; it was kill or be killed now.

A road sign passed by his window and Adrian smiled. Los Angeles - 300 miles. He would be there soon.

_Never mind me 'cause I've been dead/ Out of my body, been out of my head/ Never mind the curse of war/ Proud like a badge that just don't shine no more/ That'll bring you happiness, happiness/ It's hard to come by/ I confess I'm bad at this thing, happiness/ If you find it, share it with the rest of us/_ - Grant Lee Buffalo


	14. Beg and Steal

Sooo lucky for you all I managed to pick a hotel with free WiFi...yay update! I've spent a frustrating day finding a place to live so I thought I'd post and hope for some awesome reviews to cheer me up! ;)

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Beg and Steal**

_Please come now/ I think I'm falling/ I'm holding on to all I think is safe/ It seems I found the road to nowhere/ And I'm trying to escape/ I yelled back when I heard thunder/ But I'm down to one last breath /And with it let me say, let me say /_

They almost looked like a normal family. Heather and Robbie were in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Jackson was on the sofa watching TV. Miley was sitting at the kitchen table looking bored. Lilly got up to go to the bathroom. The two parents were joking with each other, their laughter drowning out the sound of whatever was on TV.

Miley had at least gotten used to the three people in the house enough to be able to tolerate them around her. No one but Lilly got too close to her, but she could at least enjoy sitting across a table from her dad talking to him. She just hoped she'd be able to shake the last vestiges of fear and let someone other than Lilly touch her.

"Jackson, go get your lazy butt off that sofa and come set the table," Robbie yelled from the kitchen and Jackson glared at him.

"Why can't Miley do it, she's not doing anything."

Robbie stood next to the counter, throwing an exasperated look at his son, "Your sister is supposed to take it easy. Now come on, get."

Jackson rolled his eyes and turned off the TV. He walked up to his dad and stopped, a pensive look on his face, "You know, dad, technically I don't even live here anymore. You can't make me do anything."

"I swear boy," Robbie grabbed a bamboo serving spoon from the counter and brandished it at his son in a mock threat. Jackson cowered in mock fear and Robbie smacked his arm with the spoon.

"Sheesh, dad, I'm going," Jackson said, rubbing his arm in exaggeration.

"Should've done that a long time ago, then," Robbie said, smacking Jackson's other arm for good measure.

Jackson turned and grabbed the spoon from his dad, whacking him on his forearm moving on to any body part he could get to while Robbie tried to fend him off. They were fighting over and with the spoon like little kids and Heather laughed watching them.

Miley flinched every time the spoon made contact. She could not say why. Her mind was already elsewhere, a haze surrounding her. She could not hear their voices, but each snap of the wood impacting skin was amplified to ring through her head. She trembled and clenched her fists. Another smack. Bile rose in her throat. Another smack. She closed her eyes.

Lilly came back down the stairs and into the kitchen. Robbie and Jackson stumbled past her, fighting over a spoon. Her eyes sought out Miley, as they always did. Miley was shaking in her chair, eyes closed and Lilly's heart dropped. What had happened? No one even noticed. They were still fighting over that damned spoon. Someone hit someone else with the spoon and the sound of wood on skin made Lilly flinch. She pushed down her own panic trying to resurface; what the hell were they doing?

"Give me that spoon!" she yelled over their laughing voices and both men stopped abruptly, clearly having heard the tone in her voice. Part panic, part desperation, part anger. They both turned to stare at her. She was pale. "The spoon, **now**!"

Jackson wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but he knew not to argue with that look on her face. He held out the spoon to her and she practically ripped it from his grasp. He hadn't seen Lilly this angry, probably ever. "We were just messing around, nothing serious."

She ignored him and walked past him to the dining table, where Miley still sat. The rest of them noticed her shaking, the paleness of her face, for the first time. Robbie wanted to rush over, afraid she was having a relapse of some sort, but he refrained. Lilly had beaten him to it at any rate.

Lilly set down the spoon on the table in front of the brunette. She crouched down next to the chair and put her hand on Miley's leg. The brunette opened her eyes at the touch, but they were unseeing, staring blankly ahead. Lilly sighed.

"Come on, Miles, don't do this. It's a spoon, okay, that's all it is. No one's going to hurt you and no one is going to hurt me. It's over and we're safe," Lilly said softly.

No reaction. Lilly stood with a sigh. She could feel everyone's eyes on her back, questioning, wondering what was going on but she ignored them. She really only cared about Miley at that moment. Lilly brushed a hand across the top of Miley's head and stepped as close to her as possible. She pulled Miley against her body, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Miley pressed her cheek against Lilly's stomach and wrapped both arms around the blonde's middle.

Lilly felt relieved. She'd feared Miley had really gone inside of herself again, taking hours to come back to her. Voluntary movement was a start at any rate. She rubbed her hand across her friend's back, fingers brushing against the scars she knew lay beneath the fabric of Miley's shirt. They both had scars, too numerous to count probably and she knew it would take them a long time to get over it. Perhaps they never truly would.

Jackson felt ashamed. He didn't know exactly what he had done or how, but he knew whatever he and his dad had been doing had made Miley freak out. He didn't like seeing her so vulnerable, like she might break at any moment. He looked at his dad. Robbie looked utterly devastated. No matter how hard he tried nothing was ever right. Heather came up next to him and squeezed his hand. They all felt so awkward.

Lilly turned her head from her current position and looked at them. Part of her felt a little bad they were so out of the loop, that Robbie was unable to help his own daughter, that they couldn't know if a simple thing they did would set one of them off. "Guys, if you don't mind, can we get started on dinner? I'm starving."

They stared at her, incomprehensible. Here they were stuck in this uncomfortable scene, watching Lilly comfort an obviously distraught Miley and Lilly asked for food. Nevertheless, they all moved, almost as if in slow motion and as quietly as possible, to set the table and get the food ready.

Lilly did not change positions, even when they moved around her to set the table. She thought she'd felt Miley smile slightly at her statement; the brunette had always made fun of her ravenous appetite. Robbie Ray set a plate in front of Miley, almost hesitantly. Lilly could tell he was trying to stay out of her personal space, though when he walked past them he looked down at his daughter, a sad, longing look on his face, and raised a hand as if to touch her. He let it fall again.

Lilly met his eyes and nodded towards Miley, "Go ahead, it's fine."

If he thought it weird to be given permission to touch his own daughter as if she were a wild animal, he didn't show it. Robbie looked into Lilly's eyes and saw understanding. He raised his hand again slowly and almost hesitantly touched Miley's head. He stroked his hand across her hair down to her back slowly and rubbed his hand up and down her spine. She did not move to acknowledge him, but neither did she shy away and to Robbie that was all he could ask for. She hadn't let him touch her since she'd been awake, other than the one time she'd taken his hand.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Miley mumbled when her dad walked away again.

"I know, Miles. It's alright. Now come on, let's eat."

"Lilly," Miley shook her head against the blonde's torso. Lilly pulled away and looked down at her friend.

"Nu huh, you're going to eat something. Now stay here and I'll get you something to drink."

Miley knew better than to argue with Lilly. There really was no point, Lilly always won anyway. And somehow Lilly always knew what was good for her, so Miley had just learned to trust and listen to her. Even if she wanted nothing more than to get up and hide in her room. Everyone was going to think she was crazy, well crazier, now. Part of her brain had a different idea on how she should act, hence the constant flinching and irrational fear and the inability to just let her dad hug her when she knew he wanted to so badly. That part of her had protected her for five years, but it had become a burden now. She hoped eventually it would go away.

Lilly went to the fridge and poured Miley a glass of juice. Both her mom and Robbie were standing right there, watching her. She knew they wanted to ask something, but probably didn't know how. She finally looked at them. "What?"

"Lilly, we just…we want to know…what happened? Why did Miley get so freaked out?" Heather asked softly, not wanting to anger her short-tempered daughter.

Glancing at Miley, Lilly heaved a sigh and looked back at the parents. She did not want to tell them everything, or anything really, but she knew it was important. She also knew they did not want to hear the whole truth, even if they weren't aware of that fact. "Look, I'd rather not talk about this…well, ever, but the Disciples, they were very big on discipline. If one didn't follow the rules, there was punishment. Often that meant the cane…I…well…the spoon just…it sounded almost like someone getting hit with the cane."

Heather and Robbie looked at each other, not sure what to say. How could they ever really understand what had happened to their children, what kind of emotional scars they carried around with them? They just didn't know enough about what the girls had gone through and they were both sure they wouldn't be able to stand hearing all of it. The guilt was plainly visible on their faces and Lilly sighed.

"Look, it's okay, I'm fine, Miley's fine. Please don't make a big deal out of this. Can we just eat?" She didn't wait for them and walked back to the table, setting the glass of juice in front of Miley. Lilly sat in the chair next to her friend, looking expectantly at the parents.

They ate dinner not in silence, but in awkward conversation. Jackson, clearly trying to lighten the mood, was telling stories of his antics, while Robbie and Heather made comments every now and again. The only silent ones were Miley and Lilly, the former quiet and subdued, poking at her food, and the latter eating with such vigor talking was near impossible. Miley looked at her friend and sighed. Maybe they were back home now, but things hadn't changed all that much.

* * *

Heather carefully spread a blanket over the sleeping girls, standing above them for just a few moments watching them. Lilly was lying on her back on the sofa, the injured arm to the outside. Miley was wedged between the back of the sofa and Lilly, head on the blonde's shoulder, right hand resting on her chest. Their legs were intertwined and they looked more peaceful than Heather remembered seeing them since their return. There was no fear on their faces now, no mistrust, no anger and no pain.

Seeing them so calm and at peace soothed some of Heather's frazzled nerves. She'd never expected to have her daughter returned to her. And those few times she'd allowed herself to imagine it, it had never been like this. A daughter that seemed to no longer need her, moody and distant, easy to anger, headstrong and determined and utterly devoted to the person she loved. Heather couldn't say what about that last part made her the most uncomfortable.

Lilly and Miley were so close, too close, in her opinion. She understood they'd been through a lot, probably needing each other for comfort and survival; but out of that situation such a relationship was unhealthy. If Miley relied on Lilly to keep her safe and Lilly focused solely on protecting Miley, they'd never be able to function normally in society again. But if they were pushed, they'd probably never readjust at all.

She sat in the chair with a heavy sigh, eyes still on the sleeping girls. She heard Robbie in the kitchen, bustling about as he talked on the phone. He was coming closer and his voice had taken on a slightly exasperated tone.

"Yes Ma, I understand…I am not trying to keep you from your granddaughter…Alright, as soon as she wakes up…Sure…I love you, too, Ma."

He hung up with a shake of his head and sat next to her on the chair. His eyes, too, fell on the sleeping girls. She knew he was having a hard time with things. His beloved daughter, with whom he'd been so close before the kidnapping, was a shell of her former self. Hopefully the real Miley was in there somewhere; they just had to find a way to get her out.

"What'd Ruthie want?" Heather asked, rubbing a hand across her husband's back.

He sighed heavily. "She wants to come out and see Miley. I can't blame her, to be honest. It's just not the best time…what with Miley being so out of it. I don't think she could handle another person in the house, it's hard enough with just you, me and Jackson. And Lilly, she's not exactly happy to be around people, either. I promised her she'd be the first to come out here once the girls were doing better."

She nodded slowly, knowing he was right. They had to help their daughters heal.

"I still think we need to contact that psychologist the FBI referred us to. Whatever they're doing, it works for them, but it is not helping. This co-dependency is not good for them."

Robbie suppressed a sigh. Looking at his daughter, the relaxed look on her face, he wondered whether he really wanted to get rid of whatever, or whoever, was allowing it. He just wanted his little girl back.

* * *

The weather was nice, as it normally was in Malibu. She took a deep breath, the smell of the ocean filling her lungs. It was technically still winter and though the weather was cold for southern California, having lived in Montana for five years had certainly toughened her up a bit. The air was cool on her skin, but it felt nice.

Miley stood out on the deck, enjoying the silence. She'd lived around hundreds of obnoxious people for years, but somehow this was different. This was exhausting in a way, trying so hard to be what they wanted her to be. Her dad, Heather, even Jackson, were walking on eggshells around Lilly and her and it was frustrating. Though in the past few days it seemed Heather and her father were trying to get them to spend more time apart, even if in the beginning it was just for a few minutes here and there.

They really did not understand them. She'd spent hours every day apart from Lilly in the compound; as long as they knew they'd see each other at the end of the day they could get through it. Needless to say, Lilly had not slept one night in her own bed so far.

Miley sighed and turned to go back inside. Hopefully Lilly would be back soon from whatever excursion her mother had taken her on. Suddenly, two men were in her path, blocking her access to the door. They held cameras in their hands and flashes went off in her face, stunning her.

"Hannah! Miley! Which do you prefer? Can you tell us about the kidnapping? Is it true that you were part of some underage sex cult? Could you give the camera a sad look?"

She froze. Her dad had mentioned the fact the Hannah secret had been spilled, but up until now she'd felt no impact. Of course, up until now, she'd only been outside in Montana under heavy FBI supervision. How had these paparazzi even found out where she lived? What was she supposed to do now? She was no longer Hannah, smiling and bubbly and extroverted. Now she was just Miley, scared beyond belief and ready to lash out.

"Get out of my way." She thought considering the circumstances her voice sounded fairly stern. They did not move. Her skin crawled just looking at them; they were getting too close. Perhaps their voices had alerted others and soon there were several men, all with cameras, surrounding her on all sides.

"You can't deny your fans! They've waited five years for this," another guy laughed, snapping more pictures of her. They moved closer, around to her sides, the constant whirring of the cameras and the blinding flash making her head spin. She turned in a circle, trying to find an escape route, but she was practically surrounded. They were laughing, their taunting words ringing in her ears. One of them stepped right up to her, shoving his camera in her face.

Miley lashed out. She'd never been a very violent person in her youth, but over the past five years she had at the very least learned how to throw a decent punch. Her fist collided with the man's nose with enough force to elicit a crunching sound, her arm strafing the camera as she moved. Blood spurted from the man's nose and the camera clattered to the ground, shattering, as her arm knocked it from his hands. He howled. The other men continued taking pictures, wild hyenas circling around their dying prey. They still laughed, though perhaps cautioned by their colleague's fate, they did not get too close.

"Hannah meltdown!"

"You can bet that shot's gonna make the front page."

"You're gonna pay for that, you bitch!"

She heard the patio door bang open, but couldn't see anything from her position amidst the mass of paparazzi. A voice cut across the cacophony of camera shutters and flashes. "Miles, get down!"

She didn't know why she listened to the voice; she wasn't fully clear on what was going on at that point, but she dropped to her knees regardless. The paparazzi looked confused for a split-second, before a cloud of white foam descended upon them. Miley covered her face with her hands, droplets of white showering down around her. The clicking of the cameras stopped, instead all she heard was yelling and the thundering of feet on the deck.

"This is assault, I'm gonna have you arrested!"

"Yeah, well, just get the hell away from my sister!"

Miley opened her eyes and noticed most of the men retreating, faces and torsos covered in white. The deck around her was slippery with white foam and she looked up at Jackson's face. He was standing just a few feet from her, beckoning her over with one hand, holding a fire extinguisher in the other.

"Come on, Miles, they'll probably be back," Jackson said, urgency in his tone. A few paparazzi remained, only temporarily stunned into not taking pictures.

Miley stood and ran over to her brother, taking his hand as he pulled her inside. He shut and locked the door behind them, drowning out the sound of more camera shutters. Jackson stared at his sister, trying to see if he'd gotten her with the foam, too, when he noticed she'd taken his hand. He glanced down and Miley followed his gaze, letting go of his hand. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks, Jackson."

He couldn't describe the feeling in his chest, the realization that somewhere under all the pain and fear was the old Miley. "You…You're welcome, Miles. Think dad's gonna be mad I used up the fire extinguisher?"

"We'll just tell him you were putting out a fire," she said and they both grinned at each other.

Jackson looked at her as she stopped on the bottom step into the living room.

"Those pictures really are going to be all over the news tomorrow, aren't they?"

He shrugged, not liking how the smile had fallen from her face again. He'd liked seeing it. "Yeah, probably."

"I'd forgotten how big of a deal this whole thing really was. Great, first pics of Hannah after five years and it involves punching a paparazzo."

Jackson turned and looked at her, "Yeah, but Miles, you broke that guy's nose, that's gotta count for something. At the very least everyone will know you're not to be messed with."

Miley walked to the sofa and dropped into the cushions with a heavy sigh, "Yeah, that's gotta count for something, alright."

* * *

Adrian shut off the computer, exasperated. He'd had little luck finding out more about Miley Stewart since coming to Los Angeles. Five years ago they had spent months doing research on Hannah Montana, memorizing her schedule and staking out the places she regularly went. Adrian wasn't sure if her father still lived in the same house. He knew he needed to do this right. As much as he wanted to rush out there and get the job done, he couldn't afford to screw this up. Adrian sighed and got up. It would be risky, but he needed to contact his inside man at the FBI. Ever since he'd warned Adrian of the storm on Breakers East, they had been practically incommunicado. But Adrian knew it was in his accomplice's best interest to help him out. If Adrian got caught, he would certainly tell all. He was no hero.

_Hold me now/ I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinkin'/ Maybe six feet/ Ain't so far down/ __Sad eyes follow me/ But I still believe there's something left for me/ So please come stay with me/ 'Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me/ _-Creed


	15. Salt of the Earth

I think I'm doing pretty well with the updating so far. I'm finally in Germany and thankfully have Internet...I would have hated to leave all your loyal, awesome readers hanging. Thanks for your reviews everyone, they're what keep me going. Someone remind me next week to post...I seem to be way more forgetful here ;)

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Salt of the Earth**

_Whenever I'm alone with you/ You make me feel like I am home again/ Whenever I'm alone with you/ You make me feel like I am whole again/ However far away/ I will always love you/ However long I stay/ I will always love you/ Whatever words I say/ I will always love you/ _

Sunlight filtered through the curtains and bathed the room in a warm glow. It was quiet and peaceful, the only noise the muffled sounds from the TV downstairs. She stood, as if frozen, in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Although she'd somewhat expected it, she didn't like being right. She really didn't want to be mad, but it was as if they weren't even trying. They were just not listening.

Heather marched into the bedroom and stood over the bed, looking down at the two girls. They were wrapped up in each other, as they seemed to always be nowadays. The bed was large enough for them not to have to touch, yet their bodies were intertwined. She wanted to put a stop to it. Both she and Robbie had asked them to sleep in their own rooms, just to start getting used to being back here and adjusting. They had obviously not listened.

She reached over to shake them awake, but stopped herself at the last moment. She'd seen what had happened to Jackson and that paparazzi; she had no intentions of letting Miley get a punch in at her, too. Instead, Heather shook the mattress. The girls both jerked awake and Heather knew she'd been right not to get too close.

"Mom, what the hell?" Lilly said, voice thick with sleep. She laid back against the pillow, while Miley sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"You guys both have doctor's appointments. I'm gonna take you to the hospital, now go get dressed or we're gonna be late." Heather tried not to let her annoyance with them shine through, but she knew she wasn't succeeding completely. Why couldn't they just try?

"Where's my dad?" Miley asked from her seat on the bed. Heather had always been nice to her, though lately she'd gotten the feeling the older woman was angry with her. Lilly had told her not to bother with it, but Miley could tell she thought something was up, too. Heather was often staring at them with a weird look on her face or trying to keep them apart.

"He's at a Hannah meeting. Now let's go girls." Heather turned and walked out of the room. She couldn't explain what she was feeling. Shouldn't she have been happy just to have them back and alive, regardless of how they were acting? Deep inside though, she knew she resented them for not being happy, for not acting like they used to.

Miley and Lilly got dressed, ate breakfast and were in the car within 30 minutes. Only one lone paparazzo stood outside the driveway, trying to take pictures of them getting in the car. It was a silent ride, with Lilly sitting up front after her mother had given her that look and Miley played with the hem of her sweatshirt in the back. As they walked down the hallway in the hospital, they drew some stares and whispers, even though Miley had pulled the hood over her head. Lilly had taken her hand, despite her mother's sudden coughing attack, and it made Miley feel a little better.

They sat in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. Neither of them wanted to be there and Heather's constant looks were driving them insane. A nurse came out and called Lilly's name and Heather moved to stand. Lilly stopped her.

"I'm fine, mom, you don't have to come in."

Miley stood, obviously not in the same category as Lilly's mom, and went to follow her friend. Heather stared at them and felt her anger flare. She was still mad from seeing them in bed together this morning, their hand-holding walking through the hospital and now this. Lilly had told her not to come and Miley, without prompting or asking, had just assumed it was okay for her to. Lilly had not told her otherwise. It was the last straw for Heather.

"Miley, sit down!" she said, slapping her hand onto the seat next to hers. The sound echoed in the waiting area and some people turned to look at them.

Miley and Lilly flinched at the sound, at the tone in the woman's voice, but the brunette nevertheless sat down. Lilly glanced at her then her mother and walked slowly to the waiting nurse.

Heather brought a hand to her face and sighed. She hadn't meant to lose her temper, not like that. She was frustrated with their lack of caring and their attitudes, the way no one else was allowed to get close. She wanted them to be normal again. But she regretted having yelled and scaring them. She'd seen them flinch and it pained her to know she'd scared her own daughter. Guilt invaded her and she turned to look at Miley. The brunette girl had drawn her hood over her head again and sat hunched over, with her arms resting on her legs, head lowered.

"Miley…honey, are you okay?" Heather asked softly, almost reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder.

Miley didn't respond. She was working too hard to push the panic away, willing her mind to stay and not give in to the fear. She couldn't live like this, set off by every harsh word or loud noise. She needed to be able to calm herself, to control her fear and emotions, even without Lilly present. Her chest ached from holding her breath and she exhaled. Miley took steady breaths, focusing on the rise and fall of her chest.

"I…I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to yell at you. It's hard for us, too, you know." Heather tried to explain, but she knew it was useless. She didn't even know if Miley was listening to her.

Another nurse came out and called Miley's name and the brunette stiffened. Heather looked at her; Miley wasn't getting up.

"Miley, come on, they called your name."

"I can't go in there," Miley ground out between clenched teeth. Just when she'd willed the panic away by sheer force it came back a thousand times stronger. There were strangers all around her and this doctor she didn't know. She couldn't even let her own father near her; this doctor wouldn't stand a chance.

"Of course you can. It's nothing to be afraid of. Dr Hadley's a very nice woman." Heather said, not understanding why Miley was so terrified all of a sudden.

"No. You don't understand. I **can't.**" Miley's voice now sounded anguished, like she was warring with herself.

"Honey, do you want me to come in with you?"

Miley shook her head. "I need Lilly."

Heather closed her eyes and sighed. Was she being cruel for not understanding what they were going through? It had only been two weeks, but in her eyes the girls had made very little progress. Miley looked up at her, tears in her eyes.

"You don't need Lilly, you can do this on your own."

Miley shook her head again. Her breathing was getting more rapid. She could not have a panic attack in the middle of a doctor's office, she told herself, but it was getting much harder to push it away. Heather watched her, unsure of what to do. She knew Miley was not trying to be difficult, it wasn't hard to read the abject fear on the girl's face. Maybe she had been wrong. Miley sounded like she was about to hyperventilate.

Suddenly the nurse that had called Miley's name was walking over. Heather wanted to warn her away, who knew what the woman would do that would really set the girl off. But the nurse crouched down in front of Miley, a safe distance away.

"Miley?" The brunette raised her head to look at the woman, grateful she wasn't in her personal space.

"Hi hun, my name's Kayla, I'm Dr. Hadley's nurse. If you come back with me, your friend is waiting for you." The woman spoke softly and though her instincts wanted her to comfort the upset girl, she did not move. She'd been instructed specifically on how to handle this patient and she could tell it was important she follow those instructions to the letter.

"Lilly?"

Kayla nodded, "Yeah. She's waiting for you in the exam room, okay? Can you come with me?"

Miley looked at the woman; she had a friendly face and kind eyes. She did not seem like she was lying to her and Miley nodded. She stood up and wiped a sleeve across her face. She walked towards the open door, more than ready to be reunited with Lilly. The nurse turned to follow her and Heather stopped her.

"Do you think it's a good idea to enable their co-dependency like that?"

Kayla looked at the blonde woman, a slight frown on her face, "They have been through severe trauma and readjustment takes time. It won't come from being forced into situations they are not ready for. Dr. Hadley needs to examine her and there is no way that is going to happen unless we sedate her or let Lilly stay with her. And Dr. Hadley does not believe in unnecessarily medicating her patients."

Heather watched the woman walk away and lead Miley into the back. She felt somewhat angry with the woman, chastising her like that. It wasn't that she thought the woman was completely wrong, but in all honesty, she had no idea **what** kind of trauma the girls really had been through. They did not talk about it, the FBI had kept it secret and the few doctors that knew more did not share it, either. If she did not understand why they acted the way they did, how could she learn to live with it?

Heather sat, lost in thought, until the girls came back into the waiting room. They were holding hands, again. Miley had a lollipop in her mouth and was holding a second one in Lilly's face. Lilly seemed to try to push her away, but eventually relented and let Miley stick the lollipop into her mouth. Miley smiled at the other girl. Miley had always had a beautiful smile and Heather realized she hadn't seen it much, if it all, since their return.

The girls reached her and Heather could tell Lilly was mad at her. Miley just looked at her blankly. Heather sighed and led the girls out of the doctor's office. This time she tried not to say anything about their joined hands.

* * *

Robbie Ray walked past the sofa, suppressing a heavy sigh. He looked down at Miley, curled up on the couch, wishing he knew a way to reach her. She'd been cranky all morning and though Lilly had tried to explain why, it didn't make him feel any less helpless. Back before the kidnapping, if his little girl was hurting, she'd come to him for help. Now she was just lying in front of the TV, staring at it blankly. He noticed her hand occasionally rubbing her left thigh.

Of all the things that might have happened to her over the years, Robbie knew of only two for sure. The gunshot wound she had suffered when the FBI had rescued them, and the time the kidnapper had shot her while on the phone with Robbie. He'd heard her screams then, the heart-wrenching sound still vivid in his memory. Back then they'd assumed the worst; he hadn't known for sure until this morning when Lilly had told him the bullet had hit her leg. He'd had to press her for the information, panicking that Miley was in pain for unknown reasons until Lilly explained. Robbie didn't like the thought that his daughter had been in pain all these years.

He looked at his array of guitars next to the piano and picked up his favorite. He'd strummed it a few times over the years, but he hadn't written a song since Miley's disappearance. He hadn't even liked to play all that much since and had really only done it for Heather the few times she'd asked. He slung the strap over his shoulder and began strumming a random tune. The music washed over him, the old familiar feeling cursing through him and Robbie felt himself relax.

He kept playing, not thinking of a particular melody and suddenly noticed the TV was no longer blaring. He turned, looking over the back of the sofa, though Miley hadn't moved. His fingers subconsciously picked the chords and soon he found himself playing a familiar tune. Robbie sat on the arm of the sofa, still strumming his guitar, looking down at his daughter.

Miley turned onto her back and stared at her dad. The music washed over her and it was like she was home. She drew her legs up, as if inviting him to sit next to her. Robbie couldn't believe his eyes, heart hammering in his chest as he desperately hoped he wouldn't mess up the chords. He slid down onto the sofa cushion carefully without making rash movements. They weren't touching, but it was the closest he'd been to his daughter in a while. She was simply watching him play, curious expression on her face. He started singing.

"Caterpillar in the tree, how you wonder who you'll be, can't go far but you can always dream."

She was still just watching him, his hands moving, his face as he sang, though she did not show much of a reaction. Robbie was content just knowing there had been one, even if he couldn't see a whole lot of it. It might have seemed like nothing to someone else, but it was the world to him. He was going to keep this moment going as long as he could.

"Wish you may and wish you might, don't you worry hold on tight. I promise you there will come a day." Miley lowered her eyes and looked back up at her dad. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her, yet.

"Butterfly fly away."

He nearly dropped the guitar when he heard her voice. It was soft, nothing like the strong and proud way she used to sing back as Hannah Montana, but it was more than he'd expected. He kept playing, watching her as he continued to sing. She sang along with him quietly the rest of the song and though hardly audible, it was more beautiful than he'd ever heard her before. It wasn't until he lowered his guitar that they realized they'd had an audience. Heather and Lilly were standing just inside the doorway, looking utterly surprised.

Lilly walked over to the back of the sofa and stared down at her friend, the shock plainly evident on her face. "Miles, you…" the blonde seemed at a loss for words and turned to look at Robbie instead. "She hasn't sung anything in five years."

He looked at her, confusion written on his face. Miley hadn't sung in five years? She loved singing; it had been her passion ever since she was a child. He thought about the circumstances, thought how sad it was she'd left something she loved out of misplaced guilt and shame. And then he realized he'd gotten Miley to do something not even Lilly had been able to. He knew then, despite everything, things would be okay again.

"Well, we brought dinner. Lilly, why don't you go get Jackson," Heather said from the kitchen, already having carried all of her and Lilly's bags there.

Robbie looked at Miley again and she smiled at him, a real smile like he'd been dying to see. It made his heart soar and he returned one so wide he thought his face would split. Robbie stood with his guitar and motioned at Lilly, "I'll go get him. Why don't you sit, Lilly?"

The blonde girl shrugged and sat in his vacated spot. Miley immediately stretched back out, draping her legs across Lilly's lap. The blonde's right hand went to Miley's thigh, massaging the area she knew the scar to be. Robbie looked at them, so comfortable and relaxed in each other's presence it was hard to understand. But for once, he did not feel resentment at the bond they shared. Because tonight he'd brought back a part of the old Miley only he could have brought back and it felt good to know she still needed him, too.

* * *

"We've got some bad news for you."

Lilly looked at Miley to her left, then her mother and Robbie to her right and back to Agent Reynolds who sat in the chair across from them. They'd all known nothing good was to come when Robbie Ray had opened the door and found two FBI agents looking back at him. Lilly had been surprised to see Malcolm again, fighting her initial reaction to punch him in the face until she could remind herself he was one of the good guys. She'd had to hold Miley back, too.

"What is it?" Heather asked, reaching for her daughter's hand next to her, but found it was already taken by Miley. She was not surprised.

Malcolm looked at the family across from him, the three women on the sofa, with Mr. Stewart on the chair to the side. He'd volunteered to take on this case, figuring he was really only done when it was all over. If he'd managed to gather better intel while at the compound, he might not have to sit here and give the news to two already traumatized girls. Though looking at them, he was glad to see they looked less guarded than he remembered.

"We've been trying to track down Adama's accomplice that was the mastermind behind the kidnapping, Adrian." Lilly and Miley nodded; they'd spent hours talking to the FBI about everything they remembered about the kidnappers. Unfortunately, it hadn't been all that much, not after five years.

"Well, we actually had some luck in tracking his accomplices. Matt was killed five years ago; we believe by one of the other kidnappers. It looks like Joe died several months ago, of what seemed like an accident. The fourth kidnapper is still unknown; we still have no name or sketch, other than your physical description of him."

Lilly looked at him defensively, "They never said his name and he only came around us once or twice and he covered his face. I just know he was big."

Malcolm held up his hands, not wanting to sound accusatory. The task force had been somewhat frustrated, not only trying to find Adrian and the fourth kidnapper, but also figure out where their leak was. "We know you told us all you could. We're hoping once we catch Adrian, he'll give us the name of the fourth guy. Unfortunately, Adrian has been very elusive and the closest we've come to him was finding a rest stop he'd been at three days after the fact."

Robbie looked at the agent, not liking where this was going. The girls were just starting to come back to them little by little, and he was sure whatever this agent had to tell them, it was going to make things worse.

"What's that got to do with us?"

Malcolm sighed. "We have reason to believe he's coming here, to Malibu. At this point, other than Lilly and Miley's testimony there is little evidence to prove he was part of any kidnapping. Jordan Adama is not talking and we don't expect him to. We think Adrian is coming here to…well, he wants to make sure there are no witnesses to what he did five years ago."

There was silence for several moments, before Miley spoke, "You mean, he's coming here to kill us?"

Lilly jumped up before Malcolm had a chance to respond, walking towards the kitchen. Miley got up and followed her. Lilly was digging through the fridge, as if she'd really just gotten up for a snack, and the brunette wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, resting her chin on the blonde's shoulder. Malcolm had watched them before, so close and intimate, and he still felt like an intruder.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you guys, okay?" he said, loud enough for the girls in the kitchen to hear as well. "We're setting up 24 hour security around your house and we'll have an agent with you whenever you leave."

"So we'll basically be prisoners in here?" Lilly said from behind the kitchen counter, where both girls now stood. Miley had one hand on the blonde's shoulder as if to calm her down.

Malcolm shook his head, knowing that would be the worst thing they could do to the girls after everything, "No, it's nothing like that, Lilly. Our job is to keep you safe and we're going to do that. No one is stopping you from going anywhere or doing anything."

"How long do you plan on doing this for?"

Malcolm turned to look at the blonde woman still sitting on the sofa. "It's hard to say, ma'am. Adrian is a professional, he's not known to storm blindly into a situation. We're assuming he's doing research and gathering information, maybe finding an accomplice if he needs one. It has been nearly three weeks since the girls were rescued though, so it is quite possible he is ready to make his move. We're going to find him before he does."

Lilly was still quite skeptical. She didn't have the greatest trust in the FBI, not after they had failed to save them from the kidnappers five years ago and then nearly gotten them killed in their attack on the compound. She knew she wouldn't be able to relax if Adrian was out there, looking for them.

Malcolm, sensing their unease, tried to placate them. "If everyone follows the rules, no one is going to get hurt. We're not going to let that happen."

Lilly and Miley looked at each other, dread on their faces. How many times had they heard that phrase over the past five years? It had never boded well, before.

_Whenever I'm alone with you/ You make me feel like I am free again/ Whenever I'm alone with you/ You make me feel like I am clean again/ However far away/ I will always love you/ However long I stay/ I will always love you/ Whatever words I say/ I will always love you/ I will always love you/ _-The Cure


	16. Posse Comitatus

This story is starting to get long...is anyone still reading this? Those of you that are, thanks for reading and thanks especially for reviewing and letting me know you're liking it. I've started a new story and plan on posting soon, as long as I haven't been chased out by the end of this ;) No worries, though, I generally believe in happy endings. Alright on with the story...we're almost there...

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**Chapter 16 – Posse Comitatus**

_When you're young you have this image of your life/ That you'll be scrupulous and one day even make a wife/ And you make boundaries you never dream to cross/  
And if you happen to you'll wake completely lost/ But I will fight for you/ Be sure that I will fight until we're the special two once again/_

A knock sounded on the door and Lilly got up with a groan. She'd been comfortable with her head in Miley's lap while the other girl played with her hair. They had locked the bedroom door because her mother had a tendency recently to just waltz in and then give them annoyed looks when she found them in a position she didn't like. Lilly thought it might become necessary to have a talk with her mom, though she really didn't want to. What she and Miley had was not something to be scoffed at.

The knock came again, though it sounded a lot more timid than her mother's. Lilly went and opened the door. "Alright, alright, hold your…"

She stared at the boy across the threshold in shock. It had taken her a few seconds to even recognize him, but when she did, her jaw dropped. "Oliver?"

Oliver looked into the face of his friend. He felt incredibly nervous to be standing here after all these years. But seeing her face again, everything came rushing back to him. The times they'd shared, good and bad.

"Lilly, oh my gosh," he said, opening his arms. They hugged. She felt different in his arms, harder, stiffer, like she could easily kick his ass. He pulled away and looked over her shoulder. Miley had gotten off the bed and was standing just a few feet behind Lilly. He couldn't describe the joy he felt at seeing his two best friends again. Oliver smiled at the brunette, "Hey Miley."

Miley smiled back and came up right behind Lilly, one hand grasping the bottom of the blonde's shirt.

"Hey Oliver."

Oliver watched her, remembering Jackson's warning not to get too close to her. He'd never seen Miley get violent with anyone and might've thought Jackson was lying to him, if he hadn't seen the tabloid photo of Miley punching that paparazzi.

"Wow, you guys look good."

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, "What exactly were you expecting, Oliver? The Wicked Witches of the East and West?"

"Uh…" he'd always had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth when it came to girls. "No, I meant…"

Lilly grinned at him, "I'm joking, Oliver. Come in…wow, I can't believe you're here."

He entered the bedroom, immediately noticing how they turned with him and how Lilly kept herself positioned between him and Miley. He didn't know what to think of it. Lilly motioned towards the bed and he sat on the edge, while the girls sat back against the headboard. Miley sat against the far side, Lilly between them and it made Oliver sad to think something so horrible had happened to his friends they no longer trusted anyone.

"Yeah, I guess I've been totally out of the loop. My girlfriend had to tell me they found you guys and I came down here as soon as I could," he explained, feeling slightly embarrassed he hadn't known his friends were alive for over three weeks.

"Girlfriend? Do tell," Lilly said. He watched her reach over with her good hand and grasp Miley's, intertwining their fingers. He thought it was a little odd.

"Uhh yeah, her name's Colby. We've been together for over a year now. We met in class. She's great, I think you guys would like her," Oliver said, not sure if it was right for him to be telling them about his good life when they'd had such a horrible five years.

"Oliver getting serious with a girl, who would've thought," Miley snorted and Oliver looked at her; it had been the first real thing she'd said.

He shrugged, "I guess I grew up somewhat, after…Well and I went away to college and sorta had to be on my own. I don't think Colby was that impressed with me when we first met, but I eventually won her over."

"I'm glad, Ollie, you deserve to be happy," Lilly said.

Oliver looked down at his hands and back up at his friends. He could tell they'd much rather talk about his past five years than theirs and to be honest, he did, too. "So, what are you guys gonna do? Any plans? Is Hannah coming back?"

Miley made a face at his words, "I don't think I could stomach ever being Hannah again, not right now anyway. Things might change, who knows."

He could tell by the tone in her voice she didn't think they would. Lilly shrugged with one shoulder, "My mom's been on us to get our GEDs. I mean, I guess it makes sense; we can't exactly go back to Seaview and it'd be stupid to let all those years of education go to waste. Other than that, I really don't know. It's hard enough adjusting to everything, I don't even want to think about the future."

Oliver nodded; he couldn't even imagine what it would be like to come back after all these years and have to try to fit back in. He was glad they at least had each other to hold on to. They'd always been close as friends, but Oliver could tell it was more than that now, deeper and much more important.

Robbie Ray's voice sounded from downstairs, "Miley, your Mamaw's on the phone."

Miley rolled her eyes. She loved her family dearly, but they had been calling non-stop since she'd been back, most of them trying to convince her to come out to Tennessee to 'get her head situated'. She turned to Lilly, who gave her a sympathetic grin, and leaned over to kiss the side of the blonde's mouth. Miley slid off the bed and walked around in a wide berth to the door, heading downstairs to take the phone call.

Oliver watched her go, slightly stunned, and turned back to Lilly. "So uh, you and Miley?"

Lilly looked at him, confused, "Me and Miley what?"

He laughed, but seeing the look she was giving him, he stopped and looked at her weirdly, "Aren't you together?"

"You mean 'together' like…"

"Like, she's your girlfriend…" he trailed off, now regretting bringing it up.

"She's just Miley," Lilly said, confusion now reaching her voice. She wasn't sure what to think of his words.

"But you love her."

Lilly scoffed, "Of course I love her. She's my best friend."

Oliver nodded, "Are you **in** love with her?"

"I don't even know what that means, Oliver! I know she's the other part to my soul, my reason for being, the air that I breathe, the blood that flows through my veins. Without Miley, I am nothing."

Oliver gaped at her, shocked by the seriousness of her words, "That sounds a whole lot like you're…"

"Like I'm in love with her?" Lilly asked and Oliver nodded. She shrugged. "I guess so."

If she'd just had a huge revelation about her feelings, she didn't show it. Whatever it was, it seemed like she had accepted it a long time ago.

"Does Miley feel the same way?"

Lilly looked him straight in the eyes, "Yeah, of course."

There had been no hesitation on her part, like normal with people just realizing they were in love. None of that fear and hesitancy to trust the other person, no doubt that maybe everything was one sided. Lilly had no doubts.

"I'm happy for you guys…whatever you are," Oliver smiled at her.

Lilly laughed and shook her head, "Whatever we are."

* * *

"I think we should buy a gun."

Heather nearly choked on her drink and turned to look at her daughter. Lilly was clearly not joking. The two girls were sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a huge blanket, while Miley was eating ice cream. It had really been the only thing she'd eat lately.

"What do you mean 'buy a gun'?" Heather asked, hoping clarification would help.

Lilly looked at her mom strangely, "Well, with a crazed murderer on the loose ready to kill us, I think we should be able to protect ourselves."

Heather stood next to the sofa, coffee cup in hand, and stared at the TV. They were watching some kind of mind-numbing romantic comedy. She knew Miley, and Lilly to some degree, could not stand to watch anything with gunshots, making this whole gun ownership request even more strange.

"Honey, that's what the FBI agents outside are for. And besides, none of us even knows how to use a gun," she tried to explain. Lilly raised an eyebrow at her and Miley even looked up from her ice cream.

"Lilly's a great shot," Miley said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Heather stared at them and turned her head to look at Robbie, who stood in the kitchen, cooking. He merely shrugged at her, unsure of how to respond to that, either.

"Miley, you think we should have a gun in the house?" the woman tried, hoping to appeal to the girl's fear of gunshots. Heather was a Southern California native and had never really seen the appeal of owning firearms. She knew she'd raised her daughter the same way, but obviously things had changed.

Miley looked at her, face completely serious, "Better Lilly than Adrian. I got the scar to prove it."

Heather swallowed hard. Miley did not talk about what had happened to her. Lilly did not talk about what they had endured for the past five years. Hearing the girl talk so calmly about getting shot, it was disturbing to Heather. She wondered if she could take hearing about injuries she had no prior knowledge of. Perhaps not. She walked to the kitchen counter and set down her mug.

"Hey mom, can you throw me that brace? My knee is acting up again," Lilly called out from her position on the sofa.

Miley looked at her teasingly, "Your 'old injury'?"

Heather walked back to the sofa and handed Lilly the knee brace, "Old injury? What old injury? I don't remember you hurting your knee."

Lilly looked at her mom, knowing she'd said too much. There was a reason she and Miley didn't talk about their scars and injuries. The stories of how they had gotten them were normally too horribly to share, especially with their parents. Her mother was too nosy to turn away now, however.

Lilly shrugged, "Another scar Adrian left, I suppose."

Heather stared at her daughter, knowing she definitely did not want to hear about this. But then again, she did. She wanted an explanation for all their odd behavior.

"No he didn't," Miley said, eyes still focused on the bowl in her hands.

Lilly turned to look at her, "What?"

"Adrian didn't mess up your knee. Boomer did."

"No, he didn't," Lilly said, eyes still on her friend's head. Miley hadn't looked up once.

"Yes, he did."

"It's **my** knee, I think I know what happened to it."

Miley finally looked up at Lilly, raising her eyebrows, "You were unconscious."

"I was not!" Lilly defended herself.

"You totally were. You passed out right after…" Miley trailed off, seeing the pale look on her stepmother's face.

Heather cursed the part of her that had begged for any sort of answer, because she knew, without a doubt, she could not handle it. She felt lightheaded just hearing them talking so casually about Lilly being injured, about being unconscious. If these injuries were not the ones that made them terrified and moody, if these were not the ones that caused the nightmares, Heather didn't think she could stand hearing about the ones that did.

She felt strong hands on her arm gently force her into a chair and suddenly Robbie's face was right before hers, "Honey, you want some water or something?"

She shook her head, focusing her eyes on the girls across from her. They were looking at her oddly, though with a hint of worry. She tried to clear the feeling of dread from her body. Robbie turned to the girls, knowing Heather needed some time to shake it off. He'd heard the girls' conversation and it made his heart ache to know they'd had to go through something like that. He just wanted them to be able to get past it.

"Come on, girls, dinners almost ready. Help me set the table," he said and took the bowl from Miley's hands. "Miles, you having ice cream for dinner again?" He figured it was better than her not eating at all, or picking at her food like she had been doing most of the time. Before Miley even got a chance to respond, Lilly interrupted.

"She's definitely not." Lilly stood, adjusting the knee brace on her leg.

Miley stood and opened her mouth to respond, but knew it was futile. She'd do whatever Lilly said, eventually anyway. She crossed her arms and pouted at her friend. "Sometimes I hate you, you know that."

Lilly grinned and gave Miley a quick kiss on the lips, before walking into the kitchen to help Robbie, "Sometimes I hate you, too, Miley."

Heather watched them unhappily, knowing she'd never be able to truly understand what held them together. At least, she figured, they'd stopped mentioning the gun thing.

* * *

She sat on the bed, Indian-style, facing her friend who was lying down. She'd been deep in thought for a while, Oliver's words still ringing in her head. A slow, soft song was on in the background and Miley was idly drawing circles in Lilly's palm with her fingers. Lilly looked down at her friend. Her body practically hummed when it was close to the brunette.

"Oliver said something weird to me. He said I'm in love with you," Lilly broke the silence between them, though her voice was soft. There was no nervousness in her words.

"Are you?"

Lilly shrugged, "It's not like I've ever been in love before; how do we even know?"

Miley stopped playing with her fingers and met her eyes, "I know there is no way I could ever love anyone else like this."

"Well, that's a given. I know you're my other half, Miles. But does that mean we're in love?"

"I don't know. Go ask your mom how she feels about my dad," Miley said with a slight smirk and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Don't get me started. Do you really think they feel the same way we do about each other?"

Miley shrugged, "I don't know. They got married, didn't they?"

"Does that mean we should get married?"

Miley grinned, "Two minutes ago you didn't even know if you were in love with me and now you're proposing? You move fast, Truscott."

Lilly nudged her lightly, rolling her eyes, "I know how I feel about you, Miley. No words, no definition, no piece of paper nor any jewelry could ever change that. It's other people that have a hard time understanding."

Miley scrunched up her face, "So? Who cares about them? I know I love you and I know I'm never going to be with anyone else. Nothing else matters, right?"

"Right," Lilly said softly and leaned down to press her lips to Miley's.

The brunette's arms wrapped around her neck, pulling Lilly down on top of her. They were lost in each other. Every brush of Miley's tongue against hers sent jolts down Lilly's spine. Her body felt so incredibly heavy, yet tingling all over as if a lightning bolt had impacted her. She was holding herself up with her one arm so as not to hurt the brunette's still sore chest. Lilly pulled out of the kiss, breathless, and pressed her cheek against Miley's. Suddenly she felt Miley's hands under her shirt, the other girl's fingertips tracing patterns along her belly. Goosebumps erupted on Lilly's skin and she moaned when Miley's hands brushed against the underside of her breasts.

She pulled back slightly when she felt the hands tugging at her shirt. Lilly looked down into her friend's eyes. "You sure you wanna do this? The doctor said no strenuous activity."

Miley looked at her from hooded eyes, her voice soft like a whisper when she spoke. "Just go slow."

Lilly smiled and let Miley pull off her shirt. She looked down at the brunette and felt her breath catch in her throat. Never had she imagined the possibility of loving a single person as much as she loved Miley. There were no words to describe it; she didn't even think her actions could properly do it justice. But she was going to try. And this time, she was not going to rush. Lilly leaned back down and kissed Miley.

* * *

Heather ascended the stairs slowly. The girls had gone upstairs almost right after dinner, as they did most nights. She had no idea what they did all by themselves; she couldn't imagine anyone just sitting around doing nothing. Perhaps they actually just went to sleep, too exhausted from the everyday goings on. She walked down the hallway and checked Lilly's room first. Empty, of course. In fact, other than the bed and the brand new clothes in the closet, as well as some old boxes of Lilly's stuff, the room really was empty. Lilly probably had not slept in here a single night since her return.

She went back into the hallway and thought she heard soft music coming from Miley's room. Heather thought about letting them sleep for a moment, but she wanted to give them the good news. Agent Reynolds had called and notified them they had a lead on Adrian and were moving in that night. Heather knew the girls were terrified with him out there somewhere, looking to come after them, even if they tried not to show it. Maybe she could give them some peace of mind and with that, perhaps they wouldn't need each other so much.

Heather put her hand on the door handle and pushed. The door opened without a sound. The music became louder as she opened it farther. The room was dark; the only light a soft glow coming from the bedside table. Heather looked towards the bed and nearly gasped out loud at what she saw.

Lilly was on top of Miley and they were moving, together, as one. One of Miley's hands was splayed against Lilly's neck, her bare arm the only part of her not under the sheets. Lilly moved up and the sheet slid off her shoulders, revealing her bare back. Heather thought she heard a moan and took a step backwards. She pulled the door shut with a trembling hand, not caring if the sound alerted them. Heather tried to take a deep breath to steady herself and went to find her husband.

_And we will only need each other/ We'll bleed together/ Our hands will not be taught to hold another's/ 'cause we're the special two/ And we could only see each other/ We'll breathe together/ These arms will not be taught to need another's/ 'Cause we're the special two/ _-Missy Higgins


	17. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Here is an early Christmas present to all my awesome reviewers. Thanks everyone for reading and most importantly, for letting me know how I'm doing. There might be a small cliffhanger at the end of this, but I hope to have Internet in my new house by next week so I should be able to post. I wouldn't dare leaving you all hanging for too long ;)

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**Chapter 17 – Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc**

Heather couldn't describe how she was feeling. Her head was spinning, mind reeling, nerves frazzled. She was sitting on the sofa, eyes blankly staring ahead, with Robbie next to her. She'd told him everything she'd seen upstairs and he hadn't believed her right away. Told her maybe she'd misunderstood, maybe a trick of the light, but she knew she wasn't stupid. She knew what she had seen. Heather understood that Robbie, too, did not want to accept what was happening. They'd tried so hard to make the girls comfortable enough to stop clinging to each other, but apparently all their efforts had been in vain. What were they going to do now?

They heard someone coming down the stairs into the living room and Heather turned. Lilly was dressed in pajama pants and a tank top, not even noticing or acknowledging their presence before walking into the kitchen. The girl headed straight for the fridge and Heather's face burned as the thought of Lilly making a post-coital snack. She watched her daughter for a few moments, feeling Robbie squeezing her arm as if to hold her back. But Heather knew things could not continue has they had.

"Lilly," she said, her voice even, but stern.

Lilly looked up, really noticing her mother and Robbie for the first time. They were sitting on the sofa with the TV off and both looked rather odd. "Yeah?"

"Go get Miley, we need to have a talk."

"What's going on, mom?" Lilly didn't like the tone in her mother's voice.

"Now, Lillian." Heather hoped the strength that had surfaced in her did not leave her soon. She knew she'd need it to get through this talk. Lilly looked at her strangely, though worried, and went back upstairs to grab the brunette.

Robbie sighed. If what Heather had told him was true, he was a little concerned himself. On the other hand, he didn't want to have a fight with the two girls when all the wounds were still so raw. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It can't go on like this and you know it, Robbie," Heather said and stood when the girls came down the stairs.

Miley looked like she'd been asleep and Heather felt her face turn red again as she thought about why. The brunette was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, looking like she'd really just rolled out of bed. The girls stopped just in front of her, worried looks on their faces.

"So, are you gonna tells us what's going on?" Lilly asked.

Heather pulled Robbie up by his arm and motioned at the sofa, "Why don't you sit down?"

The girls sat, reluctantly, so close to each other Heather and Robbie probably still would have had space. The woman felt her annoyance flare. She crossed her arms and looked them in the face, "We need to talk…about your…relationship."

They stared at her blankly. "What are you talking about, mom?"

Heather resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Don't play coy with me, Lilly. I **saw** you. Upstairs…having…sex."

It sounded almost physically painful for her to spit out the words. The girls gaped at her in shock and Lilly jumped up, now furious, "What the hell mom, were you spying on us?"

"That's not even relevant! Whatever **this** is, it needs to stop. Right now." Heather waved her hand between them when she said 'this' and Lilly felt her temper go.

"**This** is what it is. We love each other, mom. Deal with it, or are you suddenly homophobic?" Lilly asked, taking a step closer to her mom.

"So, you're saying you're gay? You never liked girls before, Lilly."

"I'm saying I love Miley, why can't you understand that?" the blonde girl yelled. She felt Miley stand up behind her, grabbing the back of her shirt to keep her from lashing out.

"I'm not saying you can't **love** her. You just can't love her like **that** and have sex with her!"

Lilly scoffed, "But it's okay for you and Robbie to have sex and get married? At least Miley and I loved each other long before this."

Heather bristled at the comparison, throwing a glance at her husband, who looked utterly conflicted next to her. "That's not even the same."

"Why, 'cause you're a man and a woman?"

"Lilly," Heather tried to calm them both down; she could tell Lilly was getting more and more angry. "That's not what this is about. Robbie and I, we're just worried about you two. You're completely dependent on each other, incapable of properly socializing with others and you cannot handle stress without the other there. That's not a healthy relationship, honey; it's not being in love."

"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you? I mean, you're in your second marriage, that's gotta mean something!" Lilly said, knowing she was about to really lose it. Only the feel of Miley's hand against her back was keeping her from really going off.

Heather gasped at her daughter's words, "Lillian! I will not be talked to that way!"

"Oh so you can belittle what I have with Miley, but I can't say anything about your relationship?"

Robbie, fearing things were about to escalate, took a step closer, raising his hands, "Lilly, come on…"

The blonde girl turned to him, glaring, "No, don't even start. You were always like a second father to me and I don't even **care** that you two are married. It's great, whatever! But you don't get to take this away from us."

"Honey, this is not normal. You're sisters!" Heather tried, her voice still placating, though stern.

"Step-sisters! And only because you and Robbie decided to get hitched, **after** Miley and I were together. Don't even try that crap with me, mom." Lilly's breathing was getting faster, her heart racing. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this angry. Even at the compound, she'd normally tried to keep her anger in check, not wanting Boomer or the Divine Loser to pop her in the face for her smart mouth.

"Now Lilly, I don't think you're being fair to your mom and me. We just want what's best for you and Miley," Robbie said, his voice the calmest out of all of them.

"Lilly **is** what's best for me, daddy," Miley said, her voice quiet, yet full of determination.

Robbie Ray sighed, "Bud…"

"I don't understand, dad. When you told me about you and Heather, you said things just sort of happened, that you liked having someone who understood and you figured you'd lost so much already there was no reason **not** to. That's **exactly **what happened with Lilly and I. Why is it okay for you and not for us?"

He sighed again, at a loss for words. His heart ached seeing the girls so distraught over this. He wasn't sure what they were doing was good for them, but he also wasn't all that convinced it was bad. It'd made Miley happy, at least, and wasn't that all he ever wanted? He turned to look at his wife.

Heather softened her features, looking at the brunette who still stood slightly behind Lilly, "It's just not the same."

"Why?" Lilly ground out behind clenched teeth.

Heather sighed, "Robbie and I were brought together by loss, but we developed a relationship over time once we got to know each other. You two…went through horrible trauma. It's made you rely on each other; of course, you had no one else. And that's okay, but it's not romantic love and it cannot go on."

Lilly clenched her fists and stepped even closer to her mother, almost getting in her face. Her jaw was clenched when she spoke, "You have no idea what trauma is, mother. You don't even **know** what we went through. If you're going to judge us on it, then I'll show you."

Heather wasn't sure what that meant, was too stunned from Lilly's close proximity to really register anything. Her daughter moved back again and before Heather knew it, was lifting up her tank top. There was plenty of light in the living room and as soon as Heather saw the scars, it stopped her cold.

There were a myriad of them, mostly small and hardly noticeable, but a few jumped out at her immediately. Lilly pointed to a long, jagged one on the side of her belly, "Not fast enough, I got to meet the side of the mountain. Eight stitches, I think, it's hard to keep track."

Heather swallowed, feeling the color drain from her face. Lilly didn't acknowledge her, instead moving on to a long, thin one running across her stomach. "Hand-to-hand combat training, with knives. Boomer showed everyone how **not** to do it, on me. That was quite the bleeder."

She pulled her tank top up a little farther, exposing several small, circular scars on her ribcage, "Cigarette burns. Those were just for fun."

Lilly lifted her elbow, showing off the scar mottled underside of her forearm, "Thrown down a ravine. I don't remember why."

Heather felt nauseous. She hadn't wanted this. She'd known she could never stomach hearing what had happened to the girls. Her hands were trembling; she wanted to look at Robbie, but her eyes dared not leave her daughter. Lilly wasn't close to done. She held up both wrists, scars wrapped around them.

"They tied us up with fishing line. The good thing is, after a few days, you don't even feel your hands anymore and it stops hurting."

"Lilly…" Heather interrupted, wanting her to stop. She couldn't take hearing any more of this and she was sure Robbie couldn't, either.

Lilly flashed an angry glare at her, "No, we're not done."

She turned to the brunette behind her and pulled her closer gently, her voice softening as she spoke to her friend, "Miley, come here?"

Miley looked at her friend, face pale. She was just as angry as Lilly at the parents' inability to understand and accept them, but she didn't want to do this to them. They already looked like they were going to throw up or pass out. "Lilly…"

Lilly gave her that look, pleading, yet completely reassuring. Miley stepped up next to her and hesitantly pulled off her t-shirt. She stood in her bra and though she hadn't cared about anyone seeing her for years, she suddenly felt very self-conscious.

Miley's torso was marred by numerous scars just like Lilly's had been. Most were, once again, faded and small, though still visible on her skin. The exit wound from her recent gunshot injury stood out brightly pink on her lower left ribcage and just a few inches above it the scar from the chest tube insertion was just as visible.

Lilly brushed her fingers across some of the minor scars, tracing the outline of a bigger white, rough area near her hip. "If you messed up in the kitchen, Carla would pour boiling water on you. That time she missed."

Her fingers trailed up Miley's arms, skipping over the scars they encountered along the way. Lilly brought her hands to Miley's shoulders and met her eyes. The brunette did not speak. Lilly turned her around slowly, letting her hands fall away. Her eyes fell to the multiple thin scars that crisscrossed Miley's back, the more recent five standing out most visible. She thought she heard Robbie Ray mutter something behind her and Lilly turned back to the parents.

"If you break the rules, you get the cane. Let's see…late for work, back talking, poor work performance, wrong place wrong time, being a failure…" Lilly moved her fingers across the scars as she listed their offense. She remembered all of them. She remembered the look on Miley's face when she'd gotten them.

"Lilly…" Heather interrupted her, voice hoarse. Robbie dropped into the armchair next to her. She glanced down at him. There were tears in his eyes. She had never wanted him to have to see his daughter like this. She hadn't wanted to see the scars on her own daughter, either. Lilly stopped and looked at her mom.

"Honey, no one else can ever truly understand what you've been through, but…don't you see this is what I was talking about? If it wasn't for this…these scars, those horrible things that happened to you, you wouldn't be standing here telling me you're in love with each other. You weren't in love before you were taken and you're not now. You just think you are because of all you've endured."

Miley snatched her shirt off the sofa and pulled it back on, eyes angry when she turned to Heather, "Don't tell me how I feel. You have no idea."

"Miley, maybe Heather's right…maybe if you try to be less dependent on each other you'll see how you really feel," Robbie interjected. He still wasn't sure how he felt. The only emotion in his body at that time was turmoil.

The brunette turned to her father, "I can't believe you're on her side, dad. What, you spent five years wishing I was alive, but when I am you only want me the way I was before? Should we have died during the firefight, would that have made things easier for you guys?"

Robbie stood, not liking the chill that had come over him at her words. "Now bud, I…"

Before he had a chance to finish saying what he himself didn't know, she interrupted him, "Save it. I don't wanna hear any more. I need some air."

She turned and walked towards the patio doors, closing them behind her a little too loudly when she stepped out onto the deck. There were no lights on outside and Miley immediately vanished into the darkness. Lilly watched her go, itching to follow, but she wasn't done, yet. She turned back to the parents.

"Lilly," her mother tried again, but the girl waved her off.

"No mom, you don't understand. Neither of you do," she turned to Robbie, "She cried for you, so many times, her daddy, her savior, but it was **me **who was there for her. **I **had to dry her tears and rock her to sleep and hold her while she was in so much pain she wanted to scream. I don't care how it happened or why. I don't care what it means. And I don't care how you feel about it. All I know is that I love that girl with all my heart and there is no way I could ever love another person even half as much."

Heather felt a lump in her throat. Lilly sounded so sincere, so utterly devoted and in love it broke her heart. She didn't know what to think anymore. Had she been wrong to confront them, to question their relationship?

The two parents said nothing and Lilly continued, "If you don't want us here, we'll just take Miley's share of the Hannah money and move out. Don't think it won't happen. We love you, but we don't need this. Now, I am going after my girlfriend."

She didn't even know why she'd said it; she had never referred to Miley as her 'girlfriend'. Perhaps, Lilly thought, she'd used the word just to make it clear to Robbie and her mom that she was not backing down. She'd let them think what they wanted. Before they could stop her, Lilly turned around and walked towards the patio doors. She stepped out onto the deck, though closed the doors a lot gentler than Miley had done.

Heather turned to Robbie, tears in her eyes now. He wrapped her in his arms with a heavy sigh. Neither knew what to say or do. Had they done the right thing by confronting the girls? Was it really that wrong for them to be together after all they had faced? It seemed to Robbie if the girls could find a reason to smile and be happy after everything they'd clearly been through, that reason was something to hold on to. Perhaps they'd never be back to 'normal', they'd never be their old selves again, but Robbie knew Miley had been right. For five years he'd just wished for her back; he'd never set any conditions to the state she'd be in when she returned to him then, why would he now?

They stayed like that for several minutes. The patio doors opened and they looked up, seeing Lilly rush in. Her face was pale. They did not like the look on her face. She stopped just short of the steps into the living room, voice shaky when she spoke.

"Miley's gone."

Robbie and Heather pulled apart. "What do you mean 'she's gone'?"

"She's not out on the deck. She's gone," Lilly said, an urgency to her voice and she took the first step down.

"Maybe she went down to the beach," Heather rationalized, though even to her that excuse seemed lame. It didn't sound like Miley, not this new Miley anyway.

Lilly shook her head, "She'd never leave without me. She's gone."

Robbie ran a hand nervously through his hair, "But where could she have gone?"

Lilly reached them, staring at them with wide, fearful eyes, "Adrian."


	18. Sometimes A Great Notion

Well, everybody, this is it...the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story through its entirety and I especially appreciate those of you who have reviewed, some of you multiple times. It's what makes me want to write and, most importantly, come on here to post week after week. You guys are the best. There will be a short Epilogue after this chapter which I'm planning to post in the next day or so...and I'm hoping to post the first chapter to my new story as well. I wouldn't want anyone to go through withdrawal ;) But for now...here it is...

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Sometimes A Great Notion**

_And who in her lonely slip,/ who by barbiturate/, Who in these realms of love,/ who by something blunt/, And who by avalanche,/ who by powder,/ Who for his greed,/ who for his hunger,/ And who shall I say is calling?/ _

He wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead. This had certainly not gone according to plan, but in all reality, it was coming together much better than he had expected. He grabbed the lifeless man under his armpits and heaved him from the passenger seat of the car. Thankfully it was only a few feet to a large array of bushes and he dragged the body into them, far enough to hide it from sight. There was some blood on his hands and he wiped them on the dead man's suit jacket.

The man closed the passenger door of the car quietly and moved on to the back. He popped open the trunk and walked to the backseat, opening the door. This body was much lighter and he lifted it with ease, carrying it to the back of the car. He threw the body of the unconscious brunette girl into the trunk, wondering for a split second whether he should have bothered gagging her and tying her up. There really wasn't enough time, though, he figured, and he closed the trunk. The man went back to the driver's side and reached in, sticking the keys into the ignition, before closing the door.

He walked across the street and up the driveway of the large house. Somewhere behind him he heard a car door slam and an engine starting, before the dark sedan pulled away and down the street. He did not turn to acknowledge it. He was almost at the front door, when it swung open and he came face to face with Mr. and Mrs. Stewart.

"Agent Harris! Please, something has happened to Miley," the blonde woman yelled as she saw him and he schooled his features into a mask of bewilderment and innocence.

"What are you talking about?" he asked and followed them inside the house. He immediately noticed the blonde girl pacing frantically. She looked up at him as he entered, her expression unreadable.

"Miley, she stepped outside onto the deck and a few minutes later she was gone…Oh god, you've got to find her. What if Adrian has her?" Heather said, her voice taking on a hint of panic. She hadn't meant for this to happen. If she hadn't yelled at them and torn apart their relationship, Miley wouldn't have walked out there all alone to be snatched.

Agent Harris raised his hands to slow her down, "Whoa, just calm down, okay? The whole task force is out there right now taking him down. How do you know it was Adrian?"

"We don't…look, are you sure you've got him? Did you hear from your colleagues?" Robbie Ray asked the man, wishing it desperately to be true. Maybe Miley really had just gone down to the beach, despite everything pointing at it not being so.

Harris tried not to clench his teeth. He had to remain calm and work out this situation in his favor. Of course he knew the task force hadn't caught Adrian. It had all been an elaborate decoy to lure the team far away from what was about to go down. It had been like a sign when he'd seen Miley out on the deck by herself and Harris had acted immediately. Now he just needed to get the parents away from the girl and let Adrian do his job. This would all be over soon.

"No ah…we should be hearing from them soon. Look, perhaps Miley just went for a walk on the beach. Have you checked there, yet?"

"She didn't leave of her own choice! Can we **go** now? Call in the cavalry? **Something**!" Lilly yelled, taking all three of them by surprise. She was clearly getting more agitated by the second. Lilly remembered the last time Adrian had taken Miley and she did not like to think what would happen to the brunette this time.

"Lilly, honey, we should let the FBI handle this," Heather said, reaching out a hand for her daughter.

"Screw you, I'll go find her on my own then!" Lilly bit back and ran up the stairs, probably to change.

Heather turned to Robbie, who just ran a hand nervously through his hair. Miley was gone again and he didn't want to think about it. He wanted to sit on his sofa and yell and maybe cry until she came back to him. And this time he'd remember how much he needed her, regardless of whom she loved or how she acted.

"Perhaps you should all come with me to look around the neighborhood for Miley. I'm sure she's just wandered off after the fight and we'll find her sitting on the beach or something," Harris said, trying to reason them into coming with him. He needed to distract the parents so Adrian could spring his trap for Lilly.

Heather stared at the agent in her living room, feeling confused for a second. Fear suddenly pricked at her heart and she tried not to let it show on her face. She grabbed Robbie's arm and managed a fake smile at Agent Harris, "Yeah…perhaps you're right…I just uh…I'd like to discuss it with my husband."

She dragged Robbie into the kitchen, as far away from the agent as possible, who still stood in the entrance way. Robbie looked at her in confusion, part anger, wondering why the hell she was suddenly acting so weird.

"You're not seriously gonna tell me you think Miley just wandered off, are ya?" he asked heatedly, though his voice was a whisper.

Heather turned him, hoping the agent wouldn't see their faces, "No, I don't. Something's not right about that agent."

Robbie almost turned to look, but stopped himself when Heather squeezed his arm, "What do you mean?"

"Did you not hear what he just said? Not only is he trying to convince us Miley is fine, which is odd considering his job is to assume the worst and protect us from it. He said he thought she is mad after the fight…how the hell does he know we were fighting?"

Robbie stopped, trying to remember the agent's words, "Are you sure that's what he said? Is the FBI listening in on us without telling us?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think so. Something isn't right with Agent Harris and we need to notify Agent Reynolds. You distract him, while I go call."

"Why do I have to…alright," he conceded, seeing the look on her face. Robbie turned to walk back to Agent Harris.

Harris watched them talking, suspicious, but he didn't think they knew anything. Just as Mr. Stewart was coming back over to him, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the display and suppressed the urge to curse. He looked at the man across from him and smiled apologetically, "I gotta take this. I'll be right back."

He slipped out the front door and, with some apprehension, answered the call from Adrian.

* * *

He forced the cell phone into her face, gritting his teeth, "Call her. Now."

"No."

Adrian kicked the car's tire in frustration and grabbed her arm, yanking her around. He'd forgotten how aggravating this girl could be and how incompetent he felt when he was around her. It was something he could not explain. She was older this time around, a bit stronger as well, and not as easily intimidated. Perhaps it was because she knew he was going to kill her this time.

"Call your little friend right now or else…" he trailed off, not even knowing what to say himself.

"Or what? You'll kill me? You're going to kill me anyway; I am not letting you get your hands on Lilly, too." Miley had no idea how she managed to stay so calm in the face of imminent death. True, she had wished for it just weeks ago, had wanted someone to make the pain go away for good, but now she wasn't so sure anymore. Now she had Lilly and her family back, no matter how strained their relationship might have been. She had her freedom.

Adrian scoffed, "True, I **am** going to kill you, but the 'how' is still up for discussion."

Miley remained silent. The pure adrenaline coursing through her body was all that was keeping her going at this point. She couldn't even remember how she had gotten here. She had woken up to Adrian's face right above her and she had known she was a dead woman. He grabbed her arm again and shoved her against the side of the car. She did not flinch when he touched her and she wanted to laugh at the irony of it. The people who loved her and would never hurt her could not get close to her, but a murderous kidnapper's touch did not set her off. Perhaps, she thought, it was because the brutality he exhibited when he grabbed her was exactly what her brain was expecting. It was the kind of contact she had grown used to over the years. It made her angry.

Adrian shoved the phone at her again, sick of playing around. He hadn't expected her to fight him like this; this wasn't how his plan was supposed to go. Angrily he swiped at the blood dripping down his chin. He certainly hadn't expected her to punch him. Perhaps sending her to live with a bunch of militaristic fanatics to teach her self-defense had been a poor choice on his part. It didn't matter anymore, though; he was going to kill her tonight.

"You call her **now**, or I will show you the definition of pain."

Miley didn't think he could show her anything she hadn't seen before. Even if, it didn't matter. There was no way she was luring Lilly into a trap. Lilly had saved her life many times over and tonight Miley was going to repay the favor.

"She doesn't have a phone."

He slammed her against the car again, rattling her teeth, "I don't care! Call the house phone, tell your daddy you needed some alone time. Tell Lilly to come get you before I knock out all of your pretty, little teeth."

Miley stared at his face, the rage in his eyes, the snarl on his features. She was terrified, but it was nothing like the first time he had taken her. It wasn't so new this time; it wasn't strange and overpowering. It was similar to her past five years and though she didn't like it, she could take it at the very least. She thought of Lilly, of how much she loved her friend and tears pricked her eyes. She wished she could've seen her one last time before it was over. Miley thought of her dad, who loved her with all he had, even though he made mistakes sometimes. She wished she could've given him what he wanted – his little girl back.

"Wow, Adrian, I must've knocked a few brain cells loose along with your teeth. I. Said. No." It had taken the last bit of her strength to talk to him like she wasn't terrified. Miley knew now she did not want to die, but what she wanted no longer mattered.

Adrian yelled in frustration and grabbed a fistful of her hair, smacking her head against the side of the car. She slid down onto the concrete, unconscious and he cursed his own stupidity. Now she definitely wouldn't be able to call the blonde. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and glanced down at his phone. Adrian quickly dialed the familiar number, waiting for the other person to pick up.

"Hey man…"

* * *

"What do you want, Adrian? Aren't you supposed to be setting your awesome plan in motion?"

"I might be having a slight hang up. I need you to get the girl."

Harris gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to shout. The Stewarts were still inside and would probably hear him, "What the hell do you mean you need me to get the girl?"

"Look, don't fuck around; just get the blonde, bring her here and we'll silence them once and for all. Don't forget what's at stake for you here."

He kicked at a bush off to the side, wondering for the thousandth time why he had ever taken up with the likes of Adrian. He had seemed competent enough. He heard movement over to the side of the house and walked around the driveway. What he saw almost made him smile. Someone was definitely looking out for him.

"Fine, I'm on it. I'll be there soon."

He hung up on Adrian without waiting for a reply, instead making his way over to the deck. The blonde girl dropped almost right in front of him from the rope ladder she had hung over the balcony. She turned and jumped when she saw him.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Agent Harris tried to give her a reassuring smile, "Well, I heard a noise and thought I'd check it out. You're going out to look for your friend I take it?"

She glared at him and walked past, "Don't even try and stop me."

He held up his hands, "I wasn't going to try. Actually, I was going to suggest I help you…after all, you are not supposed to leave the house without FBI protection."

Lilly looked at him suspiciously. She didn't like him, but he was right. Adrian was still out there somewhere, with Miley and when she found him she certainly needed help to take him down. He motioned towards the road and she followed him towards the dark FBI sedan parked in the street. Harris waited until she was buckled in before he started the car and drove off, towards Adrian.

* * *

Heather rushed back to Robbie, who was standing forlornly in the living room. She held up the phone with a shake of her head then looked around for Agent Harris.

"I can't reach Agent Reynolds. I left him a message. Where did Agent Harris go?"

Robbie nodded towards the door, "Had to take a phone call. What do you think?"

Heather frowned at the door, not sure if she was being paranoid, but she really didn't think so. She didn't like the things Agent Harris had said and she figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Of course, Miley was still missing and they had no help from the FBI. She looked at her husband's face, the abject fear on it making her stomach churn. She knew he wouldn't blame her outright if something had happened to Miley, but perhaps somewhere deep inside of him he'd start to resent her. He hadn't been the one freaking out over the girls' relationship; it had been her who needed order and stability in her house. It had been her who couldn't let go of the ideal of sixteen year old Miley and Lilly.

"Let's go find Miley. I'll go get Lilly," she said and noticed the relief on his face. Heather rushed up the stairs, but was back down in less than a minute. He looked at her in confusion.

"Lilly is gone, too." Heather said and shook her head at the questioning look in his eyes. "Rope ladder; she's gone to look for Miley. Let's go."

She grabbed her purse and was already heading out the door, Robbie right behind her. Heather was two steps into the driveway, when she saw two figures walking on the other side of the street. She stopped, watching them get into a car and gasped. She almost ran down the driveway and to the other car, but it was already pulling away. Heather practically sprinted to her car, yelling at Robbie to move faster, "Let's go, Agent Harris has Lilly!"

Robbie Ray saw the taillights of the sedan fade down the street and though he hadn't seen who was in it, he knew better than to question his wife. He jumped in the passenger seat and Heather peeled out of the driveway, speeding down the neighborhood road to catch up with the other car. They knew they couldn't lose the car, that whatever was going on it wasn't good. Both of their children were in danger once again, but this time they weren't going to sit by and do nothing.

* * *

Lilly watched the houses go by outside her window, though they were becoming more and more sparse. She had a bad feeling in her stomach; really, she'd had since she'd met Agent Harris on the deck, though then her fear for Miley had overridden her more basic gut feeling. She turned to look at him. His face was grim and he hadn't spoken in a while, except once when he'd picked up his phone and grunted some words at the person on the other end.

"Where the hell are we going?"

He spared her a quick glance then turned his attention back to the road, "To your friend."

"And how would you know where Miley is?"

He smirked at her and Lilly knew she was in deep trouble. Why hadn't she been smarter? She'd never trusted anyone, not since their kidnapping and here she was in a bad situation because she'd trusted the wrong person. If Miley died because of her, she'd never forgive herself. Then again, she reminded herself, they were probably both going to die. She eyed his gun secured in his hip holster, but knew she was nowhere near fast enough to get it away from him before he could shoot her. She tried to inconspicuously open the door, but it would not budge. She turned to look at him again.

"How much is Adrian paying you to do this?"

His face became dark, "I'm just trying to clean up the mess he left behind."

She didn't know what that meant. Lilly glanced back out the window and noticed there were no more houses and no more streetlights. Wherever he had taken her, no one was going to notice when Adrian killed them. He turned onto a path off the side off the road and other than the car's headlights it was pitch black. After a few moments she noticed the headlights of another car and Agent Harris stopped. He took the gun out of his holster and motioned at Lilly to get out. She saw Adrian standing by the car, looking smug with a gun in his hand and when she noticed Miley sitting with her back against the tire, she was out of the car faster than Harris could react.

Harris grabbed Lilly's arm as she tried to run past him to her friend. He gripped the gun tightly, taking a few steps towards Adrian. The blonde man grinned at him.

"Nice work, Brandon. Didn't think you could pull it off."

Harris yanked Lilly closer as she tried to pull away. Miley looked up at her, but didn't move. Adrian's gun was dangerously close to her head. Harris looked at his smug friend and felt the anger rise in him. Everything had gone wrong because of Adrian. Incompetence was not something he tolerated and he knew there was only one way to save his own hide at this point.

"You always were a step behind, Adrian." Harris raised his gun and, before Adrian even had a chance to react, pulled the trigger.

Adrian crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from a hole in his forehead. Lilly started when she heard the shot, seeing Miley do the same just a few yards from her, but otherwise they did not move. The blonde glanced at Harris, wondering what was going on. Was he a good guy after all? Adrian had addressed him so familiarly, though, as if they were in on this together.

Harris shoved her forward, towards Miley, "Get over there."

Lilly's knees hit the dirt and suddenly she remembered.

_The large man was holding onto her arm roughly, yanking her back and forth as they walked. Tears were on her face and she didn't think she'd stopped crying in two days. Lilly had to hold it together, though, for Miley. The masked man unlocked the basement door and pulled her down the steps forcibly. Her eyes immediately fell upon her friend curled up on the ratty old mattress in the corner, covered by a dirty blanket. Lilly tried not to look at the other side of the room, but her eyes betrayed her and scanned across the dark, red stain on the concrete. Miley's blood. Lilly wanted to throw up, again. They reached the bottom of the stairs and he shoved her forwards, towards the brunette, "Get over there."_

Lilly crawled the few feet to Miley, reaching out to the brunette with shaky hands. Miley fell into her embrace. Lilly turned to look at Harris as he approached them. The agent stepped up to Adrian's body on the ground and nudged it with his foot, making sure he was dead.

"It was you all along, the fourth kidnapper. This is why the FBI never found us! You were Adrian's little henchman!" Lilly ground out behind clenched teeth. She didn't know why, but she felt betrayed.

Brandon sighed and turned to the girls. They were sitting in the dirt by his feet, arms around each other. "There's no need to get rude, Lilly. Adrian promised us riches we couldn't even imagine. Five million dollars for each of us; hell, I'd never make that kind of money at the Bureau. It's a shame he was so incompetent in the end."

Lilly pulled away slightly and looked over her friend. Miley didn't seem to be hurt too badly. Then she realized it wouldn't even matter; Harris was surely going to kill them. "So? Now they're gonna know you were involved. You'll go to jail and all of this was for nothing."

He stopped just a few feet from them, looking down, "No, I don't think so. You see, once I kill the two of you, there will be no witnesses left. I'm going to tell them that I saw Adrian here at the house, after he killed my partner and kidnapped the two of you and decided to follow. I just regret I didn't get here fast enough to stop Adrian before he killed you, though I managed to shoot him when he turned his gun on me. I'll be the hero…well, in a way. It's a shame you two have to die, really. I should've done it five years ago, instead of letting Adrian talk his way out of it. Well, no more mistakes, I am going to end this once and for all."

He raised his gun at them. Lilly looked up at him, the second time in a month that she was staring down the barrel of a gun. This time, though, there were no federal agents nearby to save them at the last second. She turned her head and pulled Miley against her again. Lilly buried her face against Miley's hair, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent that was so intrinsically her friend's. The brunette's head was on her shoulder, her warm breath tickling Lilly's neck. They were really going to die this time. Lilly was sick of things not going their way, though at least, she figured, they'd had another month with each other. She'd take what she could get.

Brandon moved his finger to the trigger and pulled. Suddenly he was flying through the air, crashing heavily onto the ground. A heavy weight landed on top of him, knocking the air from his lungs. A fist met the side of his face, but he managed to hold onto his gun and swung. He missed. He was much larger than his opponent, he could tell, and swung with his free arm, connecting with something solid. The weight moved off of him and Brandon sat up.

Lilly heard the gunshot, but did not feel any pain like she had expected. She opened her eyes and saw Harris on the ground, someone else on top of him. Miley was still wrapped around her and she moved backwards, pulling her friend along. Miley looked up as well, questioningly. Lilly moved them farther back, away from the two men fighting, but their eyes remained glued to the scene. It was hard to see much of anything in the near darkness, with just the cars' headlights for illumination. The men moved into a beam of light and Lilly gasped when she saw who it was.

"Daddy," Miley whispered and tried to pull away from Lilly. The blonde held onto her friend's arms, not letting her move. They certainly did not stand a chance against the huge beast that was Agent Harris.

As soon as Brandon sat up, an arm wrapped around his throat and he struggled against the smaller, yet strong, man. He jerked his elbow backwards, connecting with Robbie's ribs. The pressure around his neck vanished and he turned immediately, throwing himself at his opponent. They crashed to the ground again, the gun suddenly gone from his hands. He wrapped his own hands around Robbie's neck. Fingers pushed against his face, trying to dig into his eyeballs and a knee crashed into his gut. He rolled off the other man onto the dirt, feeling the gun dig into his back. A fist connected with his cheek. Blows rained down upon him as he fumbled for the gun beneath him. He grasped it, a particularly heavy blow against his temple momentarily stunning him. Brandon pulled out the gun and suddenly they were rolling on the ground, fighting for control over it.

A gunshot sounded and Miley flinched against her. Lilly still held onto her arms, not daring to breathe. The two men on the ground pulled apart and her heart dropped when Harris stood up. Robbie was still on the ground, moving, but not getting up. Miley pulled against her, stronger this time.

"Daddy!" she cried, watching Agent Harris wipe some blood from his nose and point his gun at her father on the ground.

Lilly knew this was the end. She thought about grabbing Miley and running, but was frozen in place with fear. How far could they really get? She thought about the scene before them. She did not want Miley to see it. She pulled her struggling friend into her arms. Harris turned to look at them briefly, before focusing back on the man before him. His hands were shaking slightly, but he nevertheless pointed the gun at Mr. Stewart on the ground. His finger on the trigger, he pulled. Multiple gunshots sounded.

Agent Harris dropped to the ground. Suddenly dozens of men with guns swarmed around them, rushing towards the fallen agent to secure him. Lilly stared up at them, heart thundering in her chest. Were there going to be more surprises waiting for them or was this it? Some of the agents were kneeling near Robbie. Someone called for an ambulance. Lilly felt the brunette in her arms shudder. Someone squatted down next to them and Lilly looked over to see Malcolm. She felt sudden exhaustion flood through her, the relief at knowing that finally she could trust someone. Miley pulled out of her weakened embrace and rushed to where her father was. Lilly wanted to stop her. She did not want Miley to have to see her father dying, or worse, already dead. But Miley was already gone.

Miley stumbled along the dirt path, pushing past the FBI agents standing around. Her ears were ringing and her head was pounding, but she did not care. Her dad had saved her, them, and she had to go make sure he was okay. She wouldn't be able to stand it if something had happened to him because of her. People were always getting hurt because of her. She was almost through to the spot where her dad had been, when an agent wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her back. She shoved against him, trying to fight her way past.

"Whoa, you can't go back there. Crime scene," he said, not letting go of the struggling girl.

"My dad," she said, voice shaky and he saw the tear tracks on her face.

He pulled her to the side and pointed at a collection of a few agents towards one of the cars. Miley looked over and saw her father sitting against the hood of one of the sedans. The arm around her waist vanished and she ran over to him, almost falling down several times. As she got closer she saw him, an agent wrapping gauze expeditiously around his thigh, blood on the bandages and the agent's gloves. Miley suddenly felt nauseous, color draining from her face and she stopped just short of where he sat.

Robbie looked up and saw his daughter, an indescribable feeling of joy settling in his chest. His leg was hurting like crazy, but he knew he'd endure the pain a thousand times over if it meant he got to keep his little girl. He'd come so close to losing her again, but this time he'd been able to do something about it. This time he had saved her. He saw her pale face, her eyes on his bleeding leg and stood, only slightly wobbly. This could not have been easy for her, he knew, seeing him shot, especially so similar to her own old gunshot injury. She looked up and met his eyes. He smiled, wanting to reassure her.

"Daddy," she said, voice weak.

Before he knew it, she was in his arms, crying. He did not know how to react at first, too shocked to think. The noise around him faded into the background and the throbbing in his leg dulled to bearable. Miley was hugging him, her arms wrapped around his torso, her head against his chest, just like it had always been. His arms hung uselessly by his side and he itched to hug her back, but he was afraid it would be too much for her. Robbie felt like he had to at least try and lifted his arms tentatively, wrapping them around her shoulders. She did not move away or push him, she did not even stiffen against his embrace and the elation he felt at just having her in his arms was indescribable. He knew then everything was going to be okay.

Lilly stood up off the ground with help from Malcolm and looked around for Miley. She heard her name called and saw her mom running over, face fearful. Lilly had mixed emotions upon seeing her mother, still slightly angry over the fight, but at the same time she knew they probably owed their parents their lives. Heather rushed over to her daughter and hugged her, surprised Lilly did not push her away. Lilly was surprised herself when she actually returned the hug.

"Lilly, are you alright, honey? What about Miley? Where's Robbie?" Heather couldn't hold back any more. It had felt like forever to her, waiting in the car by the road for Reynolds and the rest of his agents. They'd followed Agent Harris to the dirt path, just as they'd managed to get through to Agent Reynolds. Robbie had insisted he follow Harris into the woods while she wait for the FBI to get there. She knew they had gotten there just in time.

"Mom, I'm fine, so is Miley. Robbie…I think…mom, I think he got shot," Lilly said softly, the images of Harris standing above her stepfather with a gun rushing back at her.

Heather went pale and pulled away from her daughter. She looked around the dozens of people now walking around the scene. Light was falling across the area from the multiple vehicles the agents had arrived in. Then she saw him, standing by one of the cars. She pulled Lilly along with her. As they got close enough they saw Miley in his arms and both stared at them in shock.

"Robbie!" Heather said when they got close enough and he looked over at her. She immediately noticed the bloody gauze wrapped around his leg and gasped. Miley lifted her head off her father's chest and noticed Lilly standing almost next to her, Heather by her side. She had forgotten how good her father's hugs felt.

Miley pulled away from him and was immediately engulfed in Lilly's embrace. They fit together so perfectly and Miley sighed. Heather watched the two but did not say anything. They looked right together, she had to admit. She knew they loved each other and she figured she could learn to live with that. It certainly beat the alternative, of having them not around or worse, dead. Heather went to hug her husband, feeling that maybe finally things would be okay.

The four of them stood amidst the chaos of FBI agents as the sirens sounded closer and closer in the background. Miley and Lilly had each other and they knew that was all they needed to be happy. Robbie and Heather had their children back and maybe at long last they could work on becoming a real family. Maybe not what people thought of as a normal family, but they were not going for normal. They were going to let things happen the way they did, the way they were supposed to. They were going to be alright.

_And who by brave assent,/ who by accident,/ Who in solitude/, who in this mirror/, Who by his lady's command/, who by his own hand/, Who in mortal chains,/ who in power,/ And who shall I say is calling?/ -_Leonard Cohen


	19. Epilogue

Well, this is it...the real end. Just a short epilogue to put tie up the loose ends. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and has been reading this. Also, if you're so inclined, go check out my new HM story "Chimurenga"...it's a little different from this, but all that matters is Liley right ;) Here is the end...

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**Epilogue**

_I never understood before/ I never knew what love was for/ My heart was broke, my head was sore/ What a feeling/ What a feeling in my soul/ Love burns brighter than sunshine _

Lilly sat in a rocking chair on the front porch, the warm summer wind playing with her hair. She was looking out into the fields, the lush green landscape surrounding her and sighed heavily. The air here even felt cleaner and she almost wished they'd never leave. She did miss the ocean, though, but the quiet country life suddenly held a different kind of appeal for her. Crowley Corners wasn't the kind of crazy isolation they'd endured at Breakers East, but it was just small and quiet enough to allow them to relax.

A car pulled up in front of the house, the dirt crunching underneath its tires. After a few moments, the driver's side door opened and a blonde woman stepped out. She moved back to the trunk, while a brunette girl exited the passenger door. The brunette turned and met Lilly's eyes, a huge grin erupting on her face. She walked up the dirt path and onto the porch and before Lilly knew it, the brunette was sitting sideways in her lap.

"Hey, Lils, miss me?" Miley asked and pecked the blonde's lips.

Lilly wrapped her left arm around Miley's waist and pulled the girl against her. She always marveled at how the brunette's body fit so perfectly against hers, like they were made for each other. She tried to hide the smile wanting to burst out.

"Uh…were you gone? I didn't notice," she said in all seriousness and Miley elbowed her in the ribs. She had noticed, of course, even though it had only been a few hours. Eight hours to be exact. Eight hours, twenty four minutes and thirteen seconds. Not that she had been counting.

Heather made her way up the steps onto the porch, carrying multiple bags. She saw the girls, already cuddled up on the rocking chair and suppressed a sigh. She had thought that over time they'd calm down some, but if anything, they'd only grown closer. Heather could no longer deny that those two were utterly and totally in love with each other. It did not bother her in the sense that they were both girls or step-sisters, it bothered her perhaps only because she could not understand. She loved her husband, of course, but she knew it was nothing compared to Lilly and Miley.

"Thanks for helping me with the bags, girls. It's alright, don't bother, let the old woman carry everything," she said sarcastically when she reached them. Miley grinned at her sheepishly and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Heather."

She shook her head at them, but she was smiling, nevertheless. True, they were still incredibly close and attached to each other, but it was no longer with the fierce desperation and need they'd had before. It had probably helped to just be able to relax and breathe freely and not have their parents forcing them into things they weren't ready for. Heather knew she had made a mistake, had wanted things to move faster than the girls had been comfortable with. She was glad they'd gotten another chance. Everyone was much happier this way. And most importantly of all, at least around their family, the girls no longer flinched or pulled away. They had trust again and in the face of that, Heather knew she'd support whatever relationship they had.

Lilly watched her mother enter the house and focused back on Miley. "So, did you and mom get everything you needed?"

Miley reached for Lilly's other hand, intertwining their fingers, "Yeah, pretty much. Daddy's got no idea we're throwing him a surprise party. I just hope he likes it."

"Well, it'll definitely beat that year you and Jackson forgot his birthday altogether," Lilly grinned, earning her a glare. Miley laid her head against Lilly's shoulder.

"Or the five years I wasn't there for it at all," she said softly and felt Lilly squeeze her hand.

It had been six months since their rescue from Breakers East and though the pain of what they'd gone through had lessened somewhat, they knew it would never be completely gone. They had plenty of physical and emotional scars, but with the love and support from their family, they'd managed to somehow leave the destruction behind and rebuild their lives.

They'd both gotten their GEDs the beginning of the summer, finally caving in to Heather's insistence they educate themselves further. They were both going to take college classes in the fall, though Miley was not yet sure whether she could tolerate sitting still surrounded by dozens of strangers. So far she was planning on online classes, at least until she felt more confident, but she knew Lilly would bug her until she caved in. She always did what Lilly asked of her.

Even though millions of fans had been ecstatic to find out Hannah Montana was still alive, they'd suffered disappointment just a few months later when it was officially announced Hannah was going to retire. Miley had done one interview, as herself, just to clear up the questions and rumors, but it had been nearly unbearable for her. She'd known then there was no way she could step back into the limelight, to perform or deal with crowds of thousands wanting to see her. Her family, and for the most part her fans, had been understanding. She figured maybe one day when she felt up to it, she'd do some charity shows or record duets with other singers, but there was little chance of her going it on her own. A part of Miley knew she'd miss being Hannah, but ultimately, all she needed for her happiness now was Lilly.

Miley looked out at the beautiful scenery around them and was glad Heather and her dad had persuaded them to come out to Tennessee for the summer. She had been reluctant, especially returning to her hometown with people who all knew her, as well as seeing her extended family after returning from the dead. She'd forgotten how nice it was out here, quiet and calm, beautiful. She'd forgotten how loving and accepting her family was and how much she had missed them. They hadn't even blinked at her relationship with Lilly, though in all fairness, her dad had probably filled them all in beforehand.

"Isn't it almost time?" Lilly asked softly and Miley didn't have to ask her what she meant. She nodded, but made no attempt to move. "You don't wanna go inside and watch?" Miley shook her head. "Okay."

Lilly knew if Miley wanted to stay out here then she would, even if was for all eternity. She could not think of a better feeling than having the brunette wrapped in her arms. Safe and sound. They stayed like that, in silence, for a while. They didn't need to speak, just feeling the other was enough for them to be content. Miley was tracing idle patterns on Lilly's belly through her shirt, her other hand still intertwined with the blonde's. Lilly's heartbeat thudded softly in her ear and the sound was incredibly calming. They were both alive and together and most of all, actually happy. Things weren't perfect and they still had a lot of work to do, but they were getting there. She knew they were going to be okay.

The screen door opened after a while and both girls looked up to see Robbie Ray standing before them. They couldn't read the expression on his face. They both threw him questioning looks, wanting him to spit it out already. He didn't have to ask what they were wondering about.

"Guilty, on all counts."

The girls didn't move at first, but then Miley wrapped her arms around Lilly's neck and squeezed her tightly. She kissed her softly as she pulled away and stood up. Miley hugged her dad.

"Thanks, daddy."

"Hey, don't thank me. It was both your testimony that got him. Jordan Adama is never getting out of prison again," Robbie Ray said and pulled away to look at his daughter. It had been hard for them, to sit in a courtroom and tell the judge and jury what had happened to them at Breakers East. It had been the only time after the showdown with Adrian and Agent Harris that they'd been plagued by nightmares and become closed off and skittish around their parents again. But together they had made it through. Now, with the last of their abusers going away for good, they could finally let go and truly move on.

"Now come on, girls, Grandma Rubie's fixin' supper, you don't wanna make her mad by staying out here all night."

Lilly stood as well and took Miley's hand in hers. They looked at each other and smiled softly. Maybe things really were finally over. Robbie put a hand on each of their shoulders and ushered them into the house. They did not let go of each other's hands.

_I didn't have the strength to fight/ but suddenly you seemed so right/ Me and you/ What a feeling/ What a feeling in my soul/ Love burns brighter than sunshine/ It's brighter than sunshine/ Let the rain fall, I don't care/ I'm yours and suddenly you're mine/ - Aqualung _


End file.
